Champion of the Fang
by KaryuEndan
Summary: Continuation of Hawk's Final Hunt. Suigetsu Hozuki returns home to the Hidden Mist only to find himself participating in a tournament. And one of the prizes? The Dual-Sword Kiba. He's in it to win it, baby! But he's not the only one: plenty of hopes and wishes are riding on the outcome of this.
1. Chapter 1: Promised Battle

"Look, Suigetsu. We're almost there." Jugo said as he pointed to an island on the horizon. The aforementioned shinobi looked up from his spot on the boat to see a familiar hut in the distance.

"Yeah… It's about time we ended this… Chojuro."

It had been several days since Sasuke and Karin were exonerated and Suigetsu left alongside Jugo, Tenten, and Killer B for the Land of Water. When his second journey with Taka started, Suigetsu co-operated with Chojuro to defeat Ikonokori Nashiken and avenge his brother Mangetsu, and promised Chojuro to return to the site of Nashiken's death to settle Hiramekarei's ownership. That time was finally upon him; one way or another, Hiramekarei would have a permanent wielder as of today.

When they finally arrived, Suigetsu met the one person he expected to, but someone else was with him: a young woman with frayed auburn hair and brown eyes who was wearing the standard Hidden Mist flak jacket.

"About time you showed up, Hozuki!" the woman shouted from beside Chojuro as she waved at Suigetsu, who reached their vicinity first. Suigetsu ignored the woman's greeting and focused on his rival:

"Chojuro! Long time, no see! Hey… who is this woman with you?"

"Ah… This is Tia Terumi, Suigetsu-kun. Tia-san is Lady Mizukage's cousin… on her father's side."

"So which Kekkei Genkai does _that_ mean?" Tenten interjected, deadpan.

"I'm a user of _Lava Style_ , thank you very much!" Tia said. "But that's not here nor there. I'm also a medic, which is why I'm here in the first place!"

"I see! They can fight without worry, about any injury!" B sang in response.

 _Huh. Next time I get into a fight I should bring Karin with me._ Suigetsu thought.

"At any rate," Jugo interjected, "we should clear out and give Suigetsu and Chojuro space to fight."

"Agreed. I'm rooting for you, Chojuro!"

As soon as Tia finished, she proceeded to walk toward the nearby cabin. Jugo, Tenten, and Killer B followed her.

"Do your best, Suigetsu." Jugo said during the walk.

Once the others were far enough away, Suigetsu and Chojuro placed themselves on opposite sides of the crater and made the Seal of Confrontation once more. After ten seconds of holding the pose, Suigetsu and Chojuro simultaneously lunged at each other, Chojuro drawing Hiramekarei.

Chojuro attacked first by swinging Hiramekarei overhead, aiming for Suigetsu's right shoulder. Suigetsu reacted to this by buffing up his arms and making a clapping motion, blocking Hiramekarei in between his hands.

"You sure that was the best move?"

As Chojuro's voice met Suigetsu's ears, Hiramekarei began glowing blue and spikes rapidly grew out of the blade. The moment they began to protrude into Suigetsu's hands Suigetsu turned his arms into water and stepped aside to the right, letting Hiramekarei fall. Before the blade touched the ground, however, Chojuro lifted Hiramekarei and spun counter-clockwise. Suigetsu was forced in place, liquefying his torso to avoid any damage from Chojuro's spin attack.

The spin, however momentarily, exposed Chojuro's back, and that was not an opportunity that Suigetsu would pass up. In that split second, Suigetsu reformed his arms and shot two water bullets, one with each hand. The first hit Chojuro's mid-back, making him stumble, and the second hit Chojuro's right hand, forcing Hiramekarei out of his grip.

In a panic and on pure instinct, Chojuro spun back around. He saw Suigetsu grab Hiramekarei out of the air with his right hand while his left was trained on Chojuro's head. The Hozuki then smirked:

"You sure that was the best move?"

Tia gasped from the sidelines. "No way…!"

Chojuro put his hands in the air as a motion of surrender. "Looks like you win, Suigetsu-kun… I messed up. Hiramekarei is yours to do with as you please…"

"To do with as I please, huh?"

Suddenly, Suigetsu grinned. He approached Chojuro with Hiramekarei at his side, and once he was only a few paces away, he grabbed the pommel of Hiramekarei with both hands, raised it into the air, and promptly planted it into the ground next to Chojuro. He then released his hold on Hiramekarei and motioned for Chojuro to pick it up.

"What are you doing, Suigetsu-kun?" Chojuro asked.

"You said I can do with it as I please. And I want you to keep it. You've earned it. I've decided that you'll be Hiramekarei's wielder in the _Neo Swordsmen of the Mist!_ … Provided you do me a _favour_ , that is."

"What favour would that be?"

"It's a very simple request."

Suigetsu paused to raise his right hand - all four fingers up and his thumb down - in front of Chojuro:

"Don't play dumb. There are _this_ many swords without wielders in the village. The Hokage told me all about it. I want them all!"

Chojuro nervously shook his head. "I'm sorry Suigetsu-kun, but that's something I can't do…"

"Then I guess I'm taking this!"

Suigetsu angrily pulled Hiramekarei out of the ground and walked away, toward Jugo, Tenten, B, and Tia. Once he got to the cabin, he stared at Tia with a furious glare:

"Why can't Chojuro give me the other swords?!"

Tia's eyes lit with comprehension. "Oh yeah… It's happening in two days!"

" _ **What's**_ happening in two days?!"

"A tournament! Lady Mei is hosting a tournament, and the top four prizes are _those very swords!_ We were going to do it as soon as Nashiken was taken care of, but Chojuro insisted on postponing it until after your fight to give you a chance to compete for another sword if you lost!"

" _ **WHAT?!**_ "

Suigetsu and Tenten's jaws dropped and their eyes went blank with shock. The pair was stuck in awed silence.

"Would Tenten and I be able to compete too?" Jugo asked Tia while Suigetsu and Tenten couldn't. "If all three of us make it into the top four, then Suigetsu could take three of the swords home rather than just one…"

"Add one more, and that makes four!" B added, pointing to himself.

Tia stroked her chin. "I'm not sure… It's _supposed_ to be Mist Ninja-only, but maybe Lady Mei could make an exception for Jugo and Tenten. But _you_ , Lord B? Not a chance. You already have Samehada. But it'd still be fun to watch!"

B dipped his head in disappointment.

"But in that case, doesn't that mean I _can't compete_ if I keep Hiramekarei?" Suigetsu thought aloud, strength returning to his voice.

"Well, yeah. If you already have one of the Seven Swords, there's no point in getting a second one, right?"

"Hmm…"

Suigetsu took a quick glance at Samehada and thought to himself:

 _As it stands now I don't have a ghost of a chance against Killer B… I need a way around Lightning Style before I even think about it. Wait a minute… A way around Lightning Style? There's a SWORD for that! If I compete in this tournament, then…!_

At that moment Suigetsu's eyes widened in awe and he suddenly ran back to Chojuro, where he planted Hiramekarei in the ground once more:

"Chojuro, I made up my mind!"

"What about?"

"Keep Hiramekarei as its wielder in the _Neo Swordsmen of the Mist._ I'm going to enter this tournament the Mizukage's hosting and win myself a different sword. _**Kiba**_ is going to be mine!"

"If you insist…"

Chojuro nodded, picked Hiramekarei out of the ground, and placed it at his back once more.

"Come on, everybody! Let's go the Hidden Mist Village!" Suigetsu shouted behind him to the audience. Then he looked forward, down to Chojuro, recalled a promise, and stretched out his right hand with his index and middle fingers out and his ring and pinky fingers curled in, aimed downward.

Chojuro gasped. "This is…!"

Suigetsu gave Chojuro a smile:

"We're still comrades, right?"

Without another word, Chojuro smiled back as he reciprocated the Seal of Reconciliation. They would then begin the trek to the Hidden Mist Village.


	2. Chapter 2: Time Waits for No One

"Something's really been confusing me today…" Tia said as she leapt through trees alongside Suigetsu and Chojuro - with Jugo, Tenten, and Killer B just behind them - on their way to the Hidden Mist Village.

"What's on your mind, Tia-san?" Chojuro asked.

"It's Hozuki's group! Travelling with a Leaf ninja, a Cloud ninja, and a Sage? What's going on with you guys?"

"Let me explain." Jugo interjected, picking up his pace to jump with the Mist ninja. "Tenten, Killer B and I are on a quest to visit every Senjutsu School in the world. It's my dream… Anyway, I learned a month ago that a Shark Senjutsu School exists, and that Samehada is an outlet to achieve _Shark Sage Mode_. We thought that by checking the Hidden Mist's records and figuring out how you acquired Samehada in the first place, we could trace its place of creation from there, and that will lead us to the Shark Senjutsu School. Since Suigetsu was coming here to battle Chojuro, we decided to stick together for the time being."

"Does that explanation satisfy you, Tia?" Suigetsu asked.

"I guess. But I'm not sure how much help we can be. All records pertaining to Samehada _disappeared_ at least nine years ago, before Lady Mei took office at the very latest."

"You're no stranger to what happened _then_ , Suigetsu-kun." Chojuro grimly remarked.

"Yeah, I know. Kisame defected and took Samehada with him, Big Bro was sent to take it back… and Nashiken killed him during their duel… Oh! That might be it!"

"What are you thinking, Suigetsu?" Jugo asked.

"You weren't there when it happened, Jugo, but Sasuke told Karin and me lots of stuff about Akatsuki in a story he called _Rise and Fall of the Moon Eye Plan_. The important thing is that in between the Nine-Tails Attack on the Hidden Leaf and Kisame Hoshigaki's defection, the Fourth Mizukage was being _brainwashed_ by Akatsuki's mastermind, Obito Uchiha."

"So our hypothesis was correct after all…" said Chojuro. At the same time, Tia's jaw dropped.

"But get this!" Suigetsu continued. "Kisame knew about this before he even defected! Obito approached him about joining Akatsuki right after he killed Fuguki Suikazan for selling village secrets and took Samehada for himself, while he was still _loyal to the village!_ And what's more is that Kisame was told about the Moon Eye Plan. He was the only member of Akatsuki without a position of leadership that was let in on the plan, even!"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Tia objected. "It was Kisame who murdered Lord Fourth. That very crime pushed Kisame's bounty into S-Class territory! And we all know that Lord Fourth was the _Three-Tails' Jinchuriki_ ; a member of Akatsuki would have taken him alive instead! He couldn't have joined up until after that, right?"

"That might have been the whole point." Jugo said. "Killing a Jinchuriki deflects suspicion away from Kisame knowing all along, which in turn removes evidence that Obito was behind the Fourth Mizukage. Obito would just wait until Isobu was revived to collect him for the plan."

"Meanwhile, Obito gets Kisame to destroy his puppet, Lord Fourth." Chojuro inferred, "Leaving our hypothesis that he was under mind control conveniently _unverifiable…_ "

"I was thinking that maybe something in Samehada's history had evidence against Obito and Kisame and they opted to get rid of it." Suigetsu explained. "The timing can't be coincidence."

Chojuro sighed with relief. "Thanks for all your help, Suigetsu-kun."

"Yeah… It's a real breath of fresh air knowing for sure that someone else was behind the worst part of the Bloody Mist Era." Tia added.

"But we're still at a loss as to how the village acquired Samehada…" said Jugo.

"We can worry about that more when we get there, Jugo!" Suigetsu shouted as he picked up the pace, prompting the others to speed up just to keep up with him. "Right now we've got to focus on getting to the village. I'm dying to see how the place has changed since I left!"

[X-X-X]

Suigetsu, Chojuro, and the others arrived in the Hidden Mist Village the following morning. The group of six was heading for the Mizukage's office, but along the way Suigetsu noticed a pole on the side of a street they were running down and he stopped and looked up, to most of the group's confusion and to Tia slamming into his back by accident.

"What made you stop so suddenly, Hozuki?!" Tia vehemently asked as she stood back up.

"Sorry about that… There's something I have to do."

Suigetsu promptly ran for the pole, then up the pole, until he was finally standing at the very top, looking at the entire village at once.

"I get it…" Jugo remarked, watching Suigetsu from below. "This is just like when Sasuke came back to the Leaf during the war. This is the first time Suigetsu's set foot in the village in _nine years…_ He has to give himself time to reminisce and confirm his resolve."

"This place… I can hardly recognize it!"

At that moment, Suigetsu's eyes lit and he pointed to a building under him and a little ways to the right:

"Oh… That's our house! And that," he pointed to a field a little further away, "is where we trained together! … Big Bro…"

Suigetsu remained silent for a few seconds, but eventually he resolutely nodded to himself and ran back down to the others. "I've decided! For better or for worse, I'm going to win the whole damn thing!"

Tenten raised an eyebrow. " _Or worse?_ "

"Well, yeah. I might have been pardoned for my crimes, but I'm still a _Rogue._ I'm sure a lot of the villagers wouldn't be too happy if a _traitor_ ended up winning. The crowd's going to _boo_ me, and I'm prepared to win anyway."

"By that logic, they'd rather you win than _us._ " Tenten remarked, pointing to herself and Jugo. "The Hidden Mist is still your home; _we're_ total outsiders!"

"Whatever!" Tia interjected. "Right now we need to get to Lady Mei and register. Time runs out at noon today!"

"Right. Lead the way to the Mizukage's office."

By Suigetsu's suggestion, the group continued to the Mizukage's office following Tia's and Chojuro's lead. When they arrived there, Suigetsu saw the Fifth Mizukage for the first time since the war sitting at her desk, and behind her stood a young man wearing the standard Hidden Mist uniform with wavy white hair and the same green eyes as the Mizukage.

"Chojuro! Tia! Welcome back!" said Mei.

It was then that she noticed Hiramekarei still at Chojuro's back. "And you won your duel with Suigetsu-kun, too… I'm so proud of you, Chojuro!"

"Actually…"

"Actually, _**I**_ won our battle! I just let Chojuro keep Hiramekarei because I want a _different_ sword!"

After Suigetsu interrupted Chojuro, he made his way past Chojuro and Tia and slammed his hands on the Mizukage's desk. "Sign me up for this tournament! Kiba's going to be mine!"

Mei froze as she stared at Suigetsu's face during his rant.

"What's up with you, Mizukage? I don't have Ice Style in my veins, so what gives?!"

Suddenly, Mei's cheeks turned red:

"Oh my… You've grown up _so much_ , Suigetsu-kun… You're just as handsome as Mangetsu was…"

Suigetsu stepped back, unnerved. "The hell? You're asking _kids_ out? Between your position as Mizukage and that smokin' body I thought you'd have gotten -"

"That's enough!"

In a panic, Chojuro quickly placed his hand over Suigetsu's mouth. Then he turned to whisper into Suigetsu's ear:

"Lady Mizukage is… _sensitive_."

"No, by all means…" Mei replied with a smile, which quickly turned upside down as she continued, "… let him finish."

Upon Mei's orders, however reluctantly, Chojuro released his hold on Suigetsu and stood aside. Suigetsu, meanwhile, gave the Mizukage a distressed salute:

"Forget what I said, Mam! Just here for business!"

 _There's only one woman I want being violent with me…_ Suigetsu thought.

The Mizukage smiled once again. "Good! You want to enter the _Strongest Under the Mist_ ninjutsu tournament? Alright. Yuri, you know what to do!"

"Yes, Lady Mei!"

After replying, the man in the back pulled out a paper from a stack next to him and gave it to Suigetsu along with a pen. "Fill this application form out." He told the homecoming rogue.

"Could you also give two of these to Jugo and Tenten? They wanted to compete with me, and unlike Killer B over there, they don't have Swords of the Mist already."

"What do you think about Suigetsu-kun's proposal, Lady Mizukage?" Chojuro asked.

"Hmm… Bring them in here."

Jugo and Tenten stepped into the room for the Mizukage to see. She stared at Jugo for a brief second before sighing and nodding:

 _Acceptable._

"Very well. It couldn't hurt too much including you, and Tenten's inclusion would contribute to fostering our relations with the Hidden Leaf… Yuri, give them forms too."

Yuri nodded in response to Mei's words and passed two more application forms to Jugo and Tenten. Suigetsu quickly filled his registration form in and proceeded to give the pen to Jugo, who filled it in next, and finally Tenten filled out hers, and once she was finished she passed the pen back to Yuri while all three laid their registration forms on the Mizukage's desk.

"Thank you, Suigetsu-kun, Jugo of the Scales, Tenten." Mei said as she picked up the registration forms and began reading them over. "Chojuro, resume your post and invite Lord B in. Tia, Yuri, see the three of them out. You can't be involved in any further preparations, so you're dismissed."

Tia and Yuri bowed in unison. "Yes, Lady Mei!" they said. Then they promptly led Suigetsu, Jugo, and Tenten out the door and the office. Meanwhile, Chojuro was seeing Killer B in as they walked off.

[X-X-X]

Once Suigetsu's group was outside the Mizukage's office building and back in the streets of the Hidden Mist Village, they resumed talking.

"So who are you, Yuri?" Jugo asked.

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself, have I? My name is Yuri Joki. My father is Lady Mei's mother's younger brother. That is to say, I'm Lady Mei's maternal cousin and have the Boil Style Kekkei Genkai."

"Yuri and I have known each other our whole lives because we're both related to Lady Mei." Tia added.

"Hey, why did the Mizukage kick you two out of preparations?" Suigetsu thought aloud.

"Because we're competing." Tia and Yuri said at once.

Suigetsu, Jugo, and Tenten's jaws dropped.

"Keeping the structure of the tournament a secret from the competitors, I take it?" Tenten remarked.

"Pretty much." said Yuri. "All we know is the location of the first round."

Jugo tilted his head in confusion. "And where _is_ that first round?"

"Bamboo Blade Battlefield." said Tia.

"You know where that is, Suigetsu?" Jugo asked.

"Never heard of it. Big Bro and I trained at _Bloody_ Blade Battlefield, but a place called _Bamboo_ Blade Battlefield is news to me."

"They're the same place, actually." Yuri clarified. "After Lady Mei took over, she changed the name to dissociate the village from the _Bloody Mist Era._ "

Suigetsu stroked his chin. "That makes sense, I guess…"

"The first round starts at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning." Tia said. "We can help you find a place to stay the night until then."

"Don't bother! We can just stay at my old place! I want to check it out and spend the night there! Jugo, Tenten, we can have a sleepover!"

"Sorry, but there's a problem with that." Yuri sombrely objected. "It's kind of hard to say this, but since Mangetsu-san died and you defected, the house was vacant… and someone moved in."

"What?!"

Suigetsu started shivering. "It _has_ been nine years… I guess I should have expected this… Ah, whatever. I'm still going to check things out for old time's sake. Maybe we can even convince the new resident to let us stay… Let's go, guys."

And so Suigetsu left Tia and Yuri, depressed as he nonetheless led Jugo and Tenten to his old house, where he desolately knocked on the front door.

After several knocks, someone opened the door and showed themselves. They were a boy with shoulder-length spiky black hair, sullen brown eyes, and a fairly disheveled outfit; even though Suigetsu was now the one without a home, it seemed as though this boy was the one who didn't belong.

"What do you want?" the boy asked, keeping his eyes down and away from Suigetsu's.

"I'd like for me and my friends to room with you for the time being, if it's not too much to ask. I lived here before you came in, and we need a place to stay for the duration of the tournament."

The boy bit his lip in apprehension. "So you're competing too…"

"Wait… you're going to compete? But you're so young and small… fresh out of the Academy, if I had to guess."

"I know I probably won't make it, but there's a reason I _have to_ compete. Did you know that Lady Mizukage is going to grant the winner _one wish?_ "

"This is the first I've heard about it. I'm just in it for the Kiba anyway."

"It can be anything within Lady Mizukage's power to grant, except for more Swords of the Mist and the title of Mizukage. I have a wish I desperately need to come true… That's why I _have to_ compete."

Suigetsu kneeled down to look the boy in the eye. "What wish would that be? Maybe we can help you with it."

The boy turned his back on Suigetsu. "My wish… is _revenge._ "

"Revenge? What do you mean by that?" Suigetsu asked as his voice hardened.

"My father was murdered, and the people that killed him haven't paid for it. If I win, then I'm going to ask Lady Mizukage to imprison the killers for life and make them think about what they did."

At the proclamation, Suigetsu laughed:

"You're a kinder soul than I am, that's for sure! If I was in your shoes I'd probably ask the Mizukage to _assassinate_ the killers instead! … You know what? I'll help you. If I win, then I'll use my wish for your sake and get the people that killed your father to answer for their crimes. How does that sound?"

"Thank you…"

The boy turned back around to face Suigetsu with a smile and a single tear falling from his left eye.

"We'll help you too!" Tenten added from behind Suigetsu. "Four participants with the same wish are much better than one!"

"Then please come in…" The boy greeted as he stepped aside, giving room for Suigetsu, Tenten, and Jugo to enter.

"So what's your name, kid?" Tenten asked.

"My name is… Gekido. Please stay here while I go upstairs and get your beds ready."

And so Gekido hurried upstairs and out of sight.

"Gekido looked so sad." Jugo said.

"But we'll be able to save him, won't we?" Suigetsu asked as he looked around his old house. "I'm usually the bad guy, but just this once, I really feel like playing the hero. I know the pain he must be feeling… I'd do anything to ease that kid's suffering."

"Wow." Tenten remarked. "That actually sounded somewhat cool."

Suigetsu chuckled. "This time, Sasuke won't be around to steal the spotlight either."

Just then, Gekido came walking back down the stairs and motioned for them to follow him up. After the group surveyed their beds and Suigetsu fondly remembered the whole house, the four of them played together, ate together, and after Gekido set his alarm clock for 7:00 AM to give them an hour to reach Bamboo Blade Battlefield on time, the four of them finally went to sleep.

Suigetsu, Jugo, and Tenten all woke up to the sound of the alarm, but they found that Gekido was still asleep. Suigetsu instinctively stood over top his bed side and sharply poked Gekido in the forehead. Gekido woke up in a panic, but soon relaxed himself when he saw Suigetsu's smile looming over him:

"Come on, Gekido. It's time we made your wish come true."

And with that, Suigetsu led Jugo, Tenten, and Gekido out of what used to be his home, and toward Bamboo Blade Battlefield.

The _Strongest Under the Mist_ tournament was about to begin.

* * *

(A/N): Welcome back! I have to explain this at some point, and here might be the best spot to do it. Anyway, yes, this follows Suigetsu after the events of _Hawk's Final Hunt._ This story will be much shorter than HFH, though. I also have stories like this starring Karin and Jugo planned, but by no means do you have to read this one before them. I just happened to write it first, so I'm re-uploading it first. Then Karin's story will come since I've also finished it, and Jugo's after that since It's not quite finished it yet. But these three sequel stories are designed so you can read them in any order after HFH. With that out of the way, I hope you continue to enjoy _Champion of the Fang_ and maybe leave a review here before the tournament really gets going.


	3. Chapter 3: Bamboo Blade Battle Royale

Suigetsu led Jugo, Tenten, and Gekido to a walled-off plot of land on the outskirts of the village. As they expected, the gate before them read Bamboo Blade Battlefield. When they reached the gate, however, they noticed two people in Hidden Mist flak jackets guarding the gate, one more Hidden Mist ninja sitting at a wooden desk with papers piled on it, and one more individual with their back to Suigetsu's group. This was a very tall individual wearing a dark blue sleeveless robe kept together with a black obi, and dark blue pants. They also had waist-length dark hair tied in a braided ponytail, and most alarming of all, had orange skin with what seemed to be black stripe tattoos on his arms.

"I told you before. My name is Torasame. Check the forms again." The tall figure said in an incredibly deep voice.

"Uh… okay…"

The seated man nervously nodded, quickly going through the papers. Eventually he found one paper and he sighed with regret as he pulled it out of the pile:

"Entrant Number 81, _Torasame Hoshigaki…_ Pick up the bamboo sword with your number on the butt and head on in."

Torasame promptly did as instructed, making sure to pick up his bamboo sword among those that were leaning on the side of the wall on his way in.

"Did we hear that right? _Hoshigaki?_ As in _Kisame_ Hoshigaki?" Tenten asked those around her.

Suigetsu shrugged. "This is news to me. I had no idea Kisame had any relatives."

"Me neither." Gekido added while shaking his head.

Nonetheless the four stepped up to the gate attendants, starting with Suigetsu.

"So the _traitor's_ come back to take a sword away from us, is that it? I don't even know why Lady Mizukage let you participate… whatever, Entrant Number 78. Pick up your bamboo sword and head in."

"Okay then…"

Suigetsu sighed and did as instructed. _Even some of the proctors have it bad for me…_ he thought.

Tenten stepped up next.

"Hi there, sir. My name's Tenten. I signed up right after Suigetsu did!"

"Yes… I have it right here. Entrant Number 80, Tenten." The man said as he pulled out a form with a smile on his face. "It's rare for a Leaf ninja to drop by for a visit. Good luck, and enjoy your stay at the Hidden Mist Village!"

"Thank you!"

Tenten bowed, and then took her bamboo sword and entered after Suigetsu. Jugo was next.

"Ah, you… Entrant Number 79, Jugo of the Scales. Your form is right next to theirs. Go on in after picking up your bamboo sword… Just make sure not to lose control in there, okay? We don't want any deaths…"

"Will do."

After assuring the attendant, Jugo took up his bamboo sword and entered.

That left Gekido.

"You're just a kid… what are you doing here?" the man asked with wide, sympathetic eyes.

"I'm competing. My name is Gekido. I signed up before the others."

"You sure about that? Let me check again."

The man went through the forms once more, and after almost a minute he found the registration form he was looking for. His eyes only widened even more:

"Well I'll be damned. Entrant Number 66, Gekido. Be careful out there, boy. You're going up against some really notorious people… even a couple _monsters._ "

"Thank you…"

Gekido bowed his head, then took his bamboo sword and went in. When he did, he found that Suigetsu, Jugo, and Tenten were all holding their swords in one hand effortlessly, unlike him; he needed to hold his sword with both.

The interior of Bamboo Blade Battlefield was a very large forest of bamboo shoots that rose up very high; not even Jugo could reach the top of one, even with the tip of his bamboo sword. When Suigetsu and the others entered, they noticed a crowd of people huddled underneath a computer monitor embedded into a wall… and one lone participant just outside of the huddle, looking up with the rest. Suigetsu and the others instinctively ran toward this man with orange skin, curiosity overwhelming them. Suigetsu tapped him on the shoulder, which he was just barely able to reach with his free hand:

"Excuse me!"

"What do you want?"

Torasame turned around to face them. Suigetsu, Jugo, and Tenten all gasped in horror as they saw the man's face.

None of them could forget the three gill-like markings underneath each eye.

Tenten pointed up to Torasame's face. "You… you look like Kisame!"

"Who's _that_ supposed to be?" Torasame asked as he crossed his arms impatiently. "Everyone seems scared of me because of my resemblance to that man."

Suigetsu's jaw dropped. "Who's _**Kisame?!**_ He's only _the most reviled criminal in Hidden Mist history_ , that's who! I'm just a _small-time thug_ compared to him!"

"It's very strange that you don't know him." Jugo added. "You and he share a family name. And a face. When we first heard your name we thought you were a relative of his."

"We might indeed be related if what you say is true, but I've still never heard of him. You know the story: two brothers go their separate ways and centuries later their descendants don't even know they're related. Stuff like that happens all the time."

"How are you competing in the first place?" Gekido asked. "Neither Suigetsu-Senpai or myself had seen you until today. Are you even a Mist ninja?"

"About that…"

Torasame suddenly reached into his left pant pocket with his free hand and took out a scrap of paper. "Lord Daimyo just recently hired me to be his bodyguard, and he wanted me to display my worth to the country by having me compete here. Read this:"

 _Dear Fifth Mizukage:_

 _Who delivers this to you is my new bodyguard, Torasame Hoshigaki. Do not be alarmed by his appearance or his name; I can assure you that he and Kisame Hoshigaki have no relation. I would very much like Torasame to participate in your Strongest Under the Mist tournament to display his power to the village. You can trust that I am indeed well-protected, with or without your ninja._

 _See you at the finals,_

 _Water Daimyo_

"Not even a Kage can refuse a Daimyo's request, I guess." Tenten remarked.

"There's not much time left until it starts."

Torasame put the Daimyo's message away and looked up to the monitor once more. Suigetsu, Jugo, and Tenten followed his lead, and Gekido took a few steps forward before doing the same. Indeed, within minutes a nine-by-nine grid appeared on the monitor with all the numbers between 1 and 81 on the panels. Furthermore the Fifth Mizukage, Chojuro, and Killer B emerged from a set of stairs coming from inside the wall to the top of the wall, facing all the participants. The Mizukage proceeded to shout down to the crowd:

"Hidden Mist ninja and honoured guests! Welcome to the _Strongest Under the Mist_ tournament! The first round is called the _**Bamboo Blade Battle Royale!**_ If you wish to display your talents to the country in the finals and win the Swords of the Mist, then you must first prove yourself as a _worthy swordsman!_ Out of the eighty-one of you here, only _**eight**_ will advance! This is a massive free-for-all cage match that will end only when eight are left standing! Surely you've been wondering what this monitor and the numbers on your swords are? Those are how we'll track your progress! Every time a sword's hilt touches the ground, that corresponding number will be blacked out and that entrant will be eliminated! You only lose if your sword hits the ground, so don't let go and don't get knocked down! Oh, and you also lose if you get caught using Ninjutsu or Genjutsu! This is a contest to determine who the best _swordsmen_ are, so anyone using techniques _outside_ swordplay and Taijutsu will be disqualified! And we have surveillance cameras hidden all over the place, so don't think of pulling a fast one on us! After I give the signal, you'll have five minutes to get into your starting position, and when time is up you will hear a loud buzzer letting you know that you can begin your attack! The same sound will play again once the participants are down to eight! Is this all clear?!"

"Yes, Lady Mizukage!" many voices yelled in unison.

"Then… _**BEGIN!**_ "

Mei promptly threw up her Mizukage hat. Immediately upon seeing this gesture, all the participants began running in several directions around the battlefield. Suigetsu, Jugo, Tenten, Gekido, and Torasame remained together as they ran to find a starting point.

"Shoot… I don't have any experience with swords… I wasn't expecting a contest like this." Jugo dejectedly sighed.

"Don't worry about it!" Tenten replied. "Suigetsu and I can cover for you; if anyone tries to disarm you, we'll be there to strike them down!"

Suigetsu grinned and nodded. "Good thinking, Tenten! That way, we can work together and bring all three of us into the final eight! You in too, Gekido? Torasame?"

Torasame shook his head. "Count me out. Lord Daimyo wouldn't think highly of me if I relied on a rogue and an outsider to get by the first round. Still, I won't turn my sword on you either… I would like to fight you in the finals."

With that last word, Torasame promptly broke away from the group and set off on his own.

"I… don't want to either." Gekido added. "I don't want you to baby me through everything. I need to put my own effort into making my wish come true."

Gekido then also took off on his own path.

"Eh… We'll move faster with just three people anyway." said Tenten.

[X-X-X]

After a few more minutes of travelling, the trio heard a loud buzzer just as the Mizukage warned them. At that moment, they stopped their movement and got into position: Suigetsu and Tenten began circling around Jugo with their backs to each other, lying in wait for any participants foolish enough to take them on. This continued for a few minutes without incident, but eventually a group of unrecognizable Mist ninja, eight of them, surrounded the trio.

"Traitors and cowards don't deserve to make it to the finals!" one of them said. "Get them!"

The eight Mist ninja promptly rushed at Suigetsu, Tenten, and Jugo. Suigetsu and Tenten simultaneously smirked as they parried all the incoming attacks and gracefully knocked the swords out of all their hands, not a single enemy making it to Jugo. The enemies' unconscious bodies fell on top of each other while all the swords hit the ground, eliminating eight entrants all at once.

This happened three more times. Each time took marginally longer due to creeping fatigue on all sides, but Suigetsu and Tenten successfully protected Jugo up until the seventh ninja in the fourth batch dropped his sword.

The buzzer sounded again before Suigetsu and Tenten got around to dispatching the eighth.

"Saved by the bell…" Suigetsu remarked with a smirk.

"L… Lucky me!"

The last remaining ninja ran for the monitor in terror, holding on to his sword for dear life. Curious about the results, Suigetsu, Tenten, and Jugo rushed for the monitor as well. They returned to find only eight numbers still lit: 1, 2, 42, 66, 78, 79, 80, and 81.

"78 to 80 are us." Jugo said.

"66 and 81 are Gekido and Torasame." Tenten added.

"So the little kid made it by himself. Good for him!" Suigetsu said with a smile. "Who are the last three?"

The surviving Mist ninja near the trio was breathing heavily. "42… so I made it! Yeah! The final eight!"

Suigetsu smacked himself in the forehead. "By _pure fluke…_ "

"Who are Number 1 and 2?" Jugo asked.

"Hozuki! Your team made it! Nice going!"

Suigetsu and the others turned around, back toward the woods, in response to the voice that interjected to find Tia and Yuri still holding their swords, with Gekido and Torasame just behind them. Tia grinned as she and Yuri showed the butts of their swords off.

The numbers 1 and 2 were marked on them.

Suigetsu smirked at them. "You guys got in the final eight too, then. I was looking forward to fighting you two!"

Tenten ran past Suigetsu, Tia, and Yuri and kneeled down to look Gekido in the eyes. "Congratulations, Gekido! I honestly didn't think you'd make it on your own!"

"I _didn't_ make it on my own… An enemy knocked my sword out of my hands, but Torasame-san showed up just in time to catch it in midair with his free hand and save me… He eliminated my opponent and gave me my sword back. Then we worked together. We were about to face off with Tia-san and Yuri-Senpai when the buzzer rang again."

"Really now?" Suigetsu interjected, walking up to Torasame with a grin. "You might look like Kisame, but you certainly don't _act_ like him!"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

At that moment, the Mizukage re-emerged at the top of the wall and shouted down to the contestants once more with Chojuro and Killer B at her sides:

"Attention! The eight finalists are Entrant Number 1 _**Tia Terumi**_ , Entrant Number 2 _**Yuri Joki**_ , Entrant Number 42 _**Kukyo**_ , Entrant Number 66 _**Gekido**_ , Entrant Number 78 _**Suigetsu Hozuki**_ , Entrant Number 79 _**Jugo of the Scales**_ , Entrant Number 80 _**Tenten**_ , and Entrant Number 81 _**Torasame Hoshigaki!**_ If I announced your name, let your swords down and meet me just on the other side of the wall! To everyone else… you are eliminated! But feel free to watch your peers in the finals tomorrow at Noon at Ryujin Stadium! Remember, Noon tomorrow at Ryujin Stadium!"

As soon as the Mizukage finished her announcement she, Chojuro, and Killer B left down the stairs from which they came, and heeding her orders, the eight finalists let their swords down and exited Bamboo Blade Battlefield to meet her and her company just outside. Once they did, they found that the Mist ninja that manned the registration form station now had the Mizukage hat upside down in his hands.

"Why does that dude have your hat, Lady Mei?" Tia asked.

"We're deciding your match-ups for the finals tomorrow." Chojuro explained. "Rather than a Battle Royale, you'll be fighting in single-elimination single-combat matches. Inside the Mizukage hat are slips of paper numbered 1-8, and you'll take turns picking the numbers out. 1 fights 2, 3 fights 4, 5 fights 6, and 7 fights 8… any questions?"

Jugo raised his hand. "I have one. Will our abilities be restricted like in today's round?"

"No. Unlike today, you'll be allowed to use any jutsu at your disposal. We wouldn't be able to determine who the _strongest_ is if you're being held back, after all. Now, Suigetsu-kun, please draw your number first."

"Why him?!" Kukyo objected. "He's a rogue!"

"We chose the order based on how you all performed on the surveillance footage." Mei explained. "Suigetsu-kun and Tenten's teamwork resulted in the highest combined knock-out count of all the participants. Since Suigetsu-kun had marginally higher individual knock-outs than Tenten - with sixteen compared to fourteen - he gets first pick while Tenten gets second. Torasame gets third pick, since he individually had more knock-outs than anyone else at twenty-five. The ones that follow after that are Yuri, Tia, and Gekido-kun with five, four, and two knock-outs respectively. Jugo's seventh, and you, Kukyo-kun, are dead last."

"Why is that?" Jugo wondered. "I did nothing. I should get the last pick by default…"

"Actually, during that last battle, Kukyo-kun accidentally disarmed _one of his own allies._ " Chojuro said. "That means that even though you did nothing, Jugo-kun… Kukyo-kun did _worse than nothing._ "

Kukyo hung his shoulders in shame. "You've got to be kidding me…"

Without any more interruptions, Suigetsu stepped up and grabbed a slip of paper out of the Mizukage hat, followed by Tenten, then Torasame, then Yuri, then Tia, then Gekido, then Jugo, and finally Kukyo. After doing so, they read their numbers out in order:

"I'm Number _Three._ "

"I've got _Six!_ "

" _Seven._ "

" _Five._ "

"Number _One!_ Yeah!"

"Number _Four…_ Ah!"

Gekido gasped as he looked up to Suigetsu. The Rogue Ninja's eyes were starting to twitch.

"I've got _Eight._ " Jugo continued.

"And I have _Two._ "

"That settles things, then!" Mei said as she took back the Mizukage hat and placed it on her head. "The quarter-final rounds will be Tia vs. Kukyo-kun, Suigetsu-kun vs. Gekido-kun, Yuri vs. Tenten, and Torasame vs. Jugo!"

"Make sure you rest up well for tomorrow's finals." Chojuro added. "Lord Daimyo and many villagers will be watching your battles, and one way or another, the next generation of the Swordsmen of the Mist will be decided in front of a nation-wide audience. Also, as Lady Mizukage said before, the finals are being held at Ryujin Stadium at Noon." Chojuro paused to look at Jugo, Tenten, and Torasame, "… do you need any help finding the place?"

Jugo shook his head. "Suigetsu will take Tenten and me there."

"I already know where it is."

Torasame's words took everyone by surprise.

"Lord Daimyo informed me of your village's geography before I arrived." he added.

"I see…" Chojuro meekly replied.

"Then we shall see you all tomorrow at Noon! Sleep tight, finalists!"

Upon the Mizukage's command, Suigetsu and Gekido started walking away, back to their house with Jugo and Tenten. Meanwhile, Tia and Yuri left in a different direction and Kukyo ran off on his own.

Suigetsu looked back briefly to find that Torasame hadn't begun leaving yet. He also seemed to be looking at Killer B with scorn, and what surprised him even further was that Samehada started vibrating in response momentarily, before Torasame walked away.

[X-X-X]

"Oh no… Suigetsu-Senpai and I are fighting tomorrow…" Gekido said on the walk back home. "I don't know if I'll be able to fight you…"

"It'll be fine! Just pretend I'm one of the people that killed your father. Then you'll be able to attack me without holding back."

"Hmm… I'll try that. Thank you."

"But don't think for a second I'm going to hold back on you either, Gekido!"

"Yeah… It's better if you don't."

"Make sure you win your matches tomorrow, you guys!" Suigetsu told Jugo and Tenten, who were just behind them. "Just kick Yuri's and Torasame's asses and three of the Swords will be ours!"

"Easier said than done…" Jugo objected. "Torasame took down twenty-five competitors all by himself, and I don't have the slightest clue to how he did it… He's a massive unknown quantity."

"But Torasame's just as clueless about you." Tenten pointed out. "You didn't do anything in the first round. That makes you a ' _massive unknown quantity_ ' too!"

"You're right, Tenten. Let's win our matches and fight in the semi-finals."

"Count on it!"

With renewed confidence in their chances in the finals, Suigetsu, Gekido, Jugo, and Tenten returned home and prepared for the end of the _Strongest Under the Mist_ tournament.


	4. Chapter 4: Ryujin Stadium

The night before the finals, Suigetsu, Jugo, Tenten, and Gekido said goodnight to each other and went to sleep. However, several loud noises woke Tenten up in the middle of her slumber.

"Aww! ..."

Tenten rubbed her eyes - still half-asleep and her hair undone and down to her neck - then tried finding the source of the noise that woke her up. She heard some banging below her, and immediately afterward noticed that Gekido was not in his bed.

 _Gekido? What are you doing up so late?_

Tenten got out of bed and went downstairs to check on him. When she arrived on the ground floor, Gekido was still nowhere to be found, but the noises got louder and were still below her.

 _In the basement?_

Tenten went down another flight of stairs. When she got to the bottom, she noticed Gekido sitting at a table and hitting something on top of it with a hammer.

"What's going on, Gekido?"

Tenten's question alerted Gekido to her presence, the boy standing up in panic and pointing to the objects on the table. Tenten approached him and the table to find several shards of something long and sharp.

"I've been trying to repair that…" said Gekido. "They're fragments of a sword I broke when I was on a mission… I wanted to use it during the finals."

Tenten sat down and examined the shards. Soon enough she sighed:

"Don't bother with it now. A repair job like this would take way too long to do right. You're losing valuable sleep as is; no weapon is going to help you if you don't have the stamina to use it. Why don't you just use one of my swords? I have quite a few stored in my scroll."

Gekido bowed with a faint blush on his cheeks. "Oh… Thank you, Ms. Tenten."

"Come on up with me, okay?"

Tenten stood up, turned around, and went back up the stairs. Gekido followed her. They soon arrived at Tenten's weapon scroll, which lay next to her bed. She promptly rolled part of it open and tapped a mark on it, conjuring a child-sized katana inside a sheath, which she then handed to Gekido.

The Genin looked down at the sword in his hands with awe. "A blade my size?"

"I noticed the bamboo sword you were given in the preliminaries was too heavy for you. This will feel lighter, and you'll swing faster."

"I can't thank you enough, Ms. Tenten…"

Gekido began crying tears of joy as he proceeded to hug Tenten with both arms, careful not to touch her with the sword he just received, snuggling his head in between Tenten's breasts.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

Gekido gently let go and looked up into Tenten's eyes. "You remind me a lot of my mother. Mother's very kind, very pretty, and very good at fixing things… just like you."

"I'm flattered… Say, where is your mother anyway? I know about your father, but what happened to her? You're living all alone…"

"Mother lives up north. I moved out when I decided to become a shinobi, but she still sends me money from time to time. Know how I said Mother is very good at fixing things? She's a _professional_. If you can name it, Mother can fix it… with one exception."

"What was that exception?" Tenten asked, sitting down on her bed and inviting Gekido to do the same. Gekido sat down next to Tenten and started shivering before he gave an answer:

"The one thing she couldn't fix was Father's _obsession…_ Father was so obsessed that he abandoned us to get his fix… I wanted to become a ninja so I could track Father down and stop him, but I was too late… the obsession got Father killed before I graduated. And now the people that took his life are escaping justice… Ms. Tenten, can I ask you something personal?"

Tenten put an arm around Gekido, helping him ease his nerves. "Go right ahead."

"Do you think _I'm_ obsessed? Obsessed with revenge... I got you, Senpai, and Jugo-san into making my wish for me, I refused your help during the preliminaries when I needed it, and now I'm staying up late…"

Tenten calmly shook her head and cradled Gekido close to her:

"No. You're not obsessed. Not in my eyes. One of my teammates had an obsession. It consumed him to the point he shoved everyone he knew away and tried to kill the people he swore to protect… You're not like he was. You're gentle to the core; you don't even wish death on your father's killers. Darkness hasn't consumed you, and if it threatens you in the future, I trust that you'll make the right choice."

"Thank you…"

Gekido cried himself into silence.

"Now get back to sleep, would you?" Tenten let Gekido go and lay down on her bed once more. "We have a big day tomorrow. Good night, Gekido…"

"Good night, Ms. Tenten…"

Gekido had replied just in time for the kunoichi to fall asleep once more.

[X-X-X]

The next morning, Suigetsu, Jugo, Tenten, and Gekido left the house and headed for Ryujin Stadium, and Gekido in particular remembered to attach Tenten's sword to his belt for use in the finals.

During their trek there, someone else arrived at Ryujin Stadium…

"Lord Daimyo! Pleasure to meet you again."

Mei was waving hello to an incoming carriage from just outside the stadium entrance with Chojuro and Killer B at her sides. The carriage stopped a few feet away from them, and out came the Water Daimyo to watch the finals as promised.

"Please… the pleasure is _mine_ , Lady Mizukage." The Water Daimyo said. As he approached the Mizukage and her entourage, the Water Daimyo's guards lifted his carriage in unison. When the Water Daimyo reached proximity to the Mizukage's group, he quickly singled out Killer B and squinted. He then bowed and extended his hand to shake:

"If it isn't Lord B of the Hidden Cloud! How appropriate that you be present to watch this tournament unfold, as the wielder of Samehada."

"No, no, no!" B extended his right fist. " _ **This**_ is how you say hello!"

"I see…"

The Water Daimyo meekly closed his hand into a fist and bumped B's. After a second or so of contact, B retracted his arm with a satisfied smirk.

"Please allow me to escort you to your seat, Lord Daimyo!" the Mizukage interjected as she turned around with a smile and motioned for the Daimyo and his guard to follow her. The Daimyo nodded and began following Mei inside with his entourage close behind, and Chojuro and B at the rear.

Mei led the Water Daimyo and the others through a curving hallway, then up a flight of stairs inside a rock formation, and finally to a set of seven seats on what appeared to the Daimyo to be a cliff overlooking the entire arena. One seat was right at the edge in the centre, two were a little ways behind the front seat to the left and right, and four more were behind them composing the back row.

"This is _your_ seat, Lord Daimyo." Mei pointed to the seat in the second row to the right. "Lord B will be taking the seat opposite yours, and your guards can take the back. I'll be sitting in the front, naturally."

"And what about the boy with you?" the Water Daimyo asked as he pointed at Chojuro. "From what I recall from the war… Vice-Captain Chojuro, was it?"

"Yes sir… And actually, I'll be the referee for today's matches."

"Ah. That explains it." The Water Daimyo nodded to himself and promptly took his seat. "Let's see what this stadium is like… haven't been here in a while."

The Water Daimyo took in the view of Ryujin Stadium. In the centre was a fairly wide square white marble floor surrounded by a shallow pool forming a circle around the square. There was also a walkway linking the arena to the wall opposite the Daimyo's side, just wide enough for two people to walk on side-by-side. The pool itself was surrounded by a circular wall and several rows of seats, reaching up to just over half the height the Daimyo was watching from. The wall, incidentally, was just short enough that members of the front row might get wet if someone were to be hit into the pool.

The Water Daimyo only had a few moments to take in the general structure of Ryujin Stadium, however, since something directly opposite him caught his eye. It was a giant cobalt statue of a bearded man staring into his eyes - built into the stadium itself - with a hollowed out base where the walkway ended.

"Haven't I seen that man's visage before?" the Daimyo asked as he pointed to the statue.

"Oh, that is one of the founding fathers of the Hidden Mist Village, Lord Urashima Taro." Mei explained. "I don't know the specifics since our records were wiped nine years ago by my predecessor, but according to legend Lord Taro once saved a shark from being killed by poachers. Little did he know, that shark could talk, and offered to bring him to its home and give him a present as thanks for saving its life. Lord Taro accepted, and so he rode the shark to its home. But then it turned out that the shark was actually an exceedingly beautiful mermaid princess in disguise, and the gift she had in store for Lord Taro was one of her father's treasures: a _king's_ treasure. Lord Taro received his gift and returned to the village, which decided to build this stadium as a tribute to Lord Taro and this king… We're currently inside the statue of said king, looking out from where his mouth would be."

The Water Daimyo stroked his chin. "Ah, Lord Taro, yes…"

"Chojuro!"

The wielder of Hiramekarei saluted at attention. "Yes, Lady Mizukage?"

"Go down and prepare for the arrival of the finalists. You can leave Lord Daimyo's protection to Lord B and me."

"Right away!"

Chojuro briskly walked down the stairs within the king's statue.

[X-X-X]

And so hours passed and with time, Ryujin Stadium filled. The finalists arrived first and with Chojuro's lead, were sent inside Urashima Taro's statue to wait until they were called. Then the crowd's seats got fuller and fuller with villagers and citizens from across the country, until at last the audience was packed. The last people to get into position were various Hunter Ninja lining the crowds for security detail and medics near the front row to provide emergency support in case a contestant needed it.

Once it finally reached noon, Mei stood up from her seat and addressed the audience:

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to witness the final rounds of the _Strongest Under the Mist_ tournament! Today, eight exceptional ninja will be competing before you! Here they are!"

On cue, Chojuro led the eight finalists down the walkway to the arena double-file, beginning with Tia and Kukyo, then Suigetsu and Gekido, then Yuri and Tenten, and finally with Torasame and Jugo in the rear. Once they reached the centre of the arena, they lined up in order side-by-side facing the Mizukage, smiling to the crowd as best they could.

Gekido singled out a woman sitting in the audience wearing a red qipao, with neatly parted black hair tied in a ponytail and the same brown eyes he had.

 _Mother? You came to watch me?_

The woman responded to Gekido's eye contact by smiling and waving.

"The winners of the first set of fights, _**the final four**_ , will be rewarded with the remaining Swords of the Mist!" Mei continued. "Priority of choice will be given in order of position! Take the Kiba, for example! If one of our contestants wants Kiba and makes it to the final four, they could still lose their chance if someone else places ahead of them and _chooses the Kiba first!_ With this in mind finalists, don't stop giving it your all until you've reached the very top!"

 _Oh come on, Mizukage… that was totally directed at me. The whole village probably knows what sword I'm after by now._ Suigetsu thought.

"And as a bonus…" Mei added, "There is an additional _**grand prize**_ for the winner of the entire tournament! What is this prize, you might be wondering? It is _one wish_ from yours truly! As long as you don't wish for an additional Sword of the Mist or my job, then if it within my power, _anything your heart desires_ will be made real! And I do mean _anything!_ " She finished with a wink directed at the finalists.

Sweat started dripping from Chojuro's cheeks. _Oh dear… You just want the winner to ask for your hand in marriage, Lady Mizukage…_

"Without further ado, let's begin the first match!"

Mei sat back down after concluding her announcement. On cue, the audience made a round of applause and all the finalists except for Tia and Kukyo left along the walkway and got back into the waiting room. Tia and Kukyo spread out and faced each other about ten feet apart, and Chojuro stood between them and just little further away from them than the Mizukage, who he was still facing.

Chojuro put his focus on the combatants. "Let's go over the rules again. The battle ends when one fighter is knocked down for ten seconds, is knocked out of bounds, or if I deem them unable to continue. Of course, you're free to surrender at any time as well. You can use anything at your disposal to win, but going for the kill is strictly prohibited and I _will_ intervene and disqualify you if it comes to that. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir." Tia and Kukyo both replied.

"Good."

Chojuro raised his right hand for the audience to see. Then he quickly brought it down in a gesture signifying his following statement:

"Then… begin!"


	5. Chapter 5: Strongest Under the Mist 1

As soon as Chojuro announced the start of the fight, Kukyo charged straight as Tia, drawing a kunai with his right hand. Kukyo attempted to strike Tia with a flurry of swipes, but Tia gracefully and seamlessly dodged them all, sidestepping and weaving away from every attack. Nonetheless, with each swing Kukyo pushed Tia closer and closer to the edge of the ring. Before Kukyo could send Tia all the way out, however, the kunoichi dipped underneath one of Kukyo's swings and swept him off his feet with a kick just above the ground, making him trip and fall face-first onto the edge of the ring. Tia took the opportunity to turn around and backflip twice to place herself back in the centre of the arena and distance herself from Kukyo.

Seeing Kukyo was knocked down, Chojuro began counting.

"1! … 2! … 3! …"

Before he could count any further, Kukyo stood back up and faced Tia:

"I'm still in this!"

"Not for long!"

Tia began weaving hand seals. Kukyo threw his kunai at her hands in a bid to make her stop, but she finished her set of seals with Tiger before the kunai arrived:

" _ **Lava Style: Magma Monster Jutsu!**_ "

Tia brought her Tiger seal up to her mouth and spewed out lava in the shape of a serpent straight for Kukyo. The lava flew through the kunai without slowing down, stopping it in its tracks and sending it flying. Kukyo tried running to his left to avoid it, but the lava serpent curved during its flight and caught Kukyo in its teeth. The lava then picked Kukyo up and slammed him into the water outside the ring, the mouth encasing Kukyo in concrete as the rest of the technique dissipated into hot air.

"Out of bounds… the winner is _**Tia Terumi!**_ "

In response to Chojuro's announcement, the crowd went wild with cheer and praise. "You're the _hottest_ , Lady Tia! _**We love you!**_ " a group of vocal fanboys shouted as a team of medics descended from the audience to escort Kukyo out of the stadium and Tia walked back to the waiting room with her hands on her hips and an arrogant smile plastered on her face.

"Way to go, Tia!" said Yuri.

"That chump was _easy._ I hope I have more of a challenge _next_ round."

Tia then looked in Suigetsu's direction with a wink.

Suigetsu smirked. "Be careful what you wish for."

"Next match… Suigetsu Hozuki vs. Gekido!"

On Chojuro's cue, Suigetsu and Gekido walked on to the stage side-by-side and spread themselves out, facing each other.

"Begin!"

"You can do it, Gekido!" the boy's mother shouted and waved from her seat in the audience.

"Yes… Mother's watching me… I have to do this!"

Suigetsu smiled from the other side of the ring as he watched Gekido draw Tenten's sword and get into a stance. That smile would turn upside down, however, when Gekido didn't charge at him.

The Hozuki stomped his feet impatiently. "Come on, Gekido! Attack me! Remember yesterday?!"

"I… remember… _I remember…_ "

Gekido's hair started to fly up, overwhelmed by the intensity of his chakra and emotions. " _ **I remember…**_ "

Gekido's eyes narrowed as he stared at Suigetsu with all the anger he could muster, and in due time something happened that Suigetsu was not at all expecting.

Lightning began to cover Gekido's sword.

Suigetsu was shocked into silence. _Lightning Style?!_

Gekido promptly rushed at Suigetsu with a weakness the Hozuki had never told him about:

" _ **Haaaaahhh!**_ "

When Gekido reached proximity to Suigetsu with his lightning-charged blade, the latter solemnly sighed and sidestepped Gekido's attack, leaving his back exposed. Without wasting any time, Suigetsu swiftly chopped the back of Gekido's neck with just enough force to knock him unconscious.

As light left Gekido's eyes, he fell to the ground face-first and dropped his sword, which burst into several pieces the moment it hit the ground.

The crowd was stunned silent by Suigetsu's display. During their silence, Suigetsu turned his head backward to the acting referee. "What are you waiting for, Chojuro? Start counting." He said.

"Uh… right!"

Chojuro shook himself back into focus. "1! … 2! … 3! … 4! … 5! … 6! … 7! … 8! … 9! … _**10!**_ By knock-out, the winner is _**Suigetsu Hozuki!**_ "

The crowd reacted with half stunned silence, and half with boos.

"Damn it… stooping to lows like hitting kids!" an audience member said.

"It wasn't his fault he was matched up against someone so young." Someone beside him replied. "From how I'm seeing it, he made the kid's defeat _quick and painless;_ he used just enough force to win and no more."

The first member crossed his arms in disgust. "Tch. You might have a point. To think that the _Second Coming of the Demon_ is actually capable of _restraint…_ "

Ignoring the crowd as much as he could, Suigetsu gently lifted Gekido was both arms and carried him back to the waiting room. Meanwhile, Chojuro carefully moved the shards of Gekido's sword into the pool out of bounds in preparation for the next round.

Once Suigetsu was back in the waiting room, he poked Gekido's forehead to wake him up.

Gekido looked up to Suigetsu's eyes. "I lost, didn't I?"

"Yeah… but you were able to attack me without holding back. That's the important thing." Suigetsu said as he placed Gekido on the ground and helped him stand up. "I'll keep your dream alive, alright?"

"Thank you, Senpai…"

Gekido then turned to Tenten and cried into her chest with a hug. "And I'm sorry, Ms. Tenten… I broke your sword."

"It's okay..." Tenten returned his embrace. "I have many more weapons where that came from."

"How did you know to use Lightning Style against me anyway?" Suigetsu interjected, snapping Gekido's attention beside him while still hugging Tenten.

"I read your Bingo Book entry. Your weakness is public knowledge for the Hidden Mist… But I'm still not very good at it. Every time I try to charge a weapon with Lightning, I end up putting too much chakra into it and the surplus static destroys the weapon…"

"That was how you broke my sword, I guess…" Tenten remarked.

Meanwhile, having finished removing the sword shards from the ring, Chojuro resumed the battles with his announcement:

"Next match: Yuri Joki vs. Tenten!"

"That's my cue!"

Tenten promptly let go of Gekido and walked out with Yuri beside her.

Gekido waved and cheered as she left. "Good luck, Ms. Tenten!"

Once Yuri and Tenten were in position, Chojuro got between them and announced the start of another fight:

"Begin!"

At that moment, Yuri clapped his hands together and Tenten tapped various parts of her scroll, quick-firing as many shuriken as she could.

" _ **Boil Style: Steam Soldier Jutsu!**_ "

Yuri was just moments away from being punctured by Tenten's shuriken when his entire body transformed into a spherical mass of steam. The flurry of shuriken passed through the mass of steam seamlessly.

The moment this occurred, Tenten started thinking. _Oh no… I can't hit him! If it's anything like Suigetsu though, then there's still something I can do! I won't be able to fight in the next round if I do, but I'll secure a Sword anyway… Here goes nothing!_

Tenten then tapped an elaborate part of her scroll to conjure a red-and-white feathered fan.

B grinned from his seat to the left of the Mizukage. "Ten-outta-ten! Using the Ba-sho-sen!"

"No!" Jugo objected from his position in the waiting room. "Tenten doesn't have the chakra to use that safely… It's all or nothing!"

As Yuri began to approach Tenten in steam form, Tenten jumped and waved the Bashosen toward the ground in Yuri's direction, blasting the mass of steam with a thick arrow made of lightning. It struck the ground with such force to scar the white ring brown at ground zero and create a shockwave strong enough to force some water in the pool out, sprinkling the entire front row of the audience. Chojuro had to stick to the ground with chakra not to be forced out of the ring himself.

But despite all the power of the Bashosen, the mass of steam remained undisturbed and followed Tenten into the air. Tenten struggled to remain conscious as she began falling back-first, but she was forced wide awake when she saw Yuri return to his original form above her and drive his knees into her abdomen.

"Did you seriously think my technique would have the _same weakness_ as Hozuki?"

Yuri slammed Tenten into the ground back first, sandwiched between his knees and the ring. She began to cough up blood as she heard her own spine crack under the pressure while the Bashosen left her hands and disappeared in a puff of smoke next to her.

Jugo's eyes widened with horror. "Tenten!"

"That's enough!" Chojuro shouted, using the Body Flicker to warp next to Yuri and the downed Tenten as the former stood back up and the latter continued coughing. "Tenten is unable to continue; the winner is _**Yuri Joki!**_ "

As the medics rushed to Tenten's immediate aid, the crowd roared with thunderous applause and cheer.

"Yeah! Show that _**outsider**_ who's boss!" a member of the audience shouted.

"So cool! Go Lord Yuri!" several female fans also shouted.

Yuri smugly left the ring to return to a voice filled with dissent for what he'd done.

"Tenten… Yuri, why did you do that to Tenten?" Jugo asked with just the hint of anger in his voice. Gekido gave Yuri a dirty look all the while.

"What? I saw an opening, so I took advantage of it. We're all ninja here; fighting dirty is part of the MO. If you want to avenge her, then win your match and take me on in the next round."

Tia smiled and gave Yuri a high-five. "You said it, Yuri!"

As the medics finished giving Tenten immediate treatment and escorting her out of the arena, Chojuro called on the next match:

"To finish the round: Torasame Hoshigaki vs. Jugo of the Scales!"

Jugo and Torasame walked down the aisle side-by-side, and the cheering from the crowd was scared into silence by the emerging fighters.

"Jugo of the Scales… isn't that the _monster_ Sasuke Uchiha used to keep in check?" one watcher wondered, shivering.

"Yeah… and his opponent looks like he could be the _Monster of the Hidden Mist's_ twin brother…" someone beside them added in fear.

The two giants walked into position and faced each other. At that moment, however, Jugo started to shiver:

 _No… not now…_

"Begin!"

Chojuro had indicated the start of the fight, but before Torasame could take a single step, Jugo raised his hands and screamed:

"I surrender!"

Jugo promptly ran away from the arena and back into the waiting room as fast as he could.

"Okay, then…" Chojuro said. "Since Jugo of the Scales surrendered, the winner is _**Torasame Hoshigaki!**_ "

The Water Daimyo applauded. "Ah. Good show, Torasame! Defeating your enemy without having to make a move! Just splendid!"

As Jugo returned to the waiting room, a very angry Suigetsu was waiting for him:

"What the hell, man?! What happened to avenging Tenten, huh?!"

"What indeed?" Yuri and Tia asked in unison, smirking with their arms crossed.

"Quiet!"

Jugo quickly sat down and began meditating.

"Oh… I get it now… Sorry for the outburst…"

Suigetsu averted his eyes in shame as within moments, purple markings surrounded Jugo's eyes, he grew four small white horns on his forehead, his forearms widened and turned white and scaly, and his back grew a hump that was also white and scaly

Jugo stood up upon completing his transformation into Sage Mode. The moment he did so, however, he froze with fear as he stared outside toward Torasame:

"Maybe my surrender wasn't so unfortunate after all…"

"What do you mean by that, Jugo-san?" Gekido asked, his own eyes tearing with worry.

"I mean that along with Kisame's name and face, he also has Kisame's _level of_ _chakra._ "

Everyone's jaws dropped in unison.

"You won't be able to beat him through conventional means, Suigetsu… Torasame is yet another _Tailless Tailed Beast._ "


	6. Chapter 6: Strongest Under the Mist 2

Torasame briefly looked up at Killer B in the top of the king's statue before walking back to the waiting room in the base of Urashima Taro's statue, to meet several scared faces and Jugo in Sage Mode. "Guess I was lucky." He said. No one was brave enough to respond as Torasame leaned back on a cobalt wall and crossed his arms.

Mei stood up to address the audience. "This concludes the quarter-final round, and the _**final four**_ have been decided! Tia Terumi, Suigetsu Hozuki, Yuri Joki, and Torasame Hoshigaki!"

Upon the announcement, several members of the audience started cheering, "Lady Tia!" Others cheered "Lord Yuri!" Meanwhile, some booed along with yelling "Down with demons!" and some angrily shouted "No sharks!"

"Silence, please!"

In response to Mei's command the crowd immediately lowered their voices.

"Which swords will go to which wielders? And who will receive the _grand prize_? We begin deciding now, with the _**semi-final round!**_ "

The Mizukage promptly sat back down, and soon after Chojuro made his announcement:

"Next match: Tia Terumi vs. Suigetsu Hozuki!"

On cue the fighters began walking into the ring. "Lady Tia! _Lady Tia!_ _ **Lady Tia!**_ " many voices in the crowd chanted, drowning out the various boos.

"Listen to that?" Tia asked rhetorically as she looked Suigetsu's way during the walk. "The crowd loves me more than it hates you, Hozuki. Maybe you should just give up and spare yourself the humiliation."

"I already told you; for better or for worse, I'm winning the _whole damn thing._ " Suigetsu replied as they got into their starting positions.

"Begin!"

At the very start of the fight, Tia jumped and began making hand seals.

 _I may not be capable of Lightning Style, but I can still take advantage of your weakness! When Lava Style makes contact with Water, it becomes concrete! Once I've covered the whole arena in Lava you won't be able to liquefy without turning yourself into cement!_

Tia finished her Hand Seals with Tiger in tandem with her thoughts and brought her hands closer to her mouth.

" _ **Lava Style: Magma Mon -**_ "

Before Tia could complete her technique, she found she could no longer move her mouth, and something hard was suddenly occupying the space inside it. And moments later she was falling to the ground, struggling to breathe. She looked at Suigetsu once more and saw that he was pointing at her with his left hand and some water was dripping from his left index finger.

In another second, Suigetsu began rushing for Tia as she fell, expanding his right arm during the pursuit. Tia tried to put her arms in front of herself to block the incoming attack, but to no avail; the force of Suigetsu's punch was enough to make her spit out the chunk of concrete inside her mouth, along with knock her out of the ring and straight into the wall.

When Tia smacked into the wall she heard a crack behind her, and instinctively brought her hands behind herself in an attempt to heal her injury.

"Out of Bounds! The winner is _**Suigetsu Hozuki!**_ " said Chojuro.

Several nearby medics immediately dropped down to assist Tia's recovery to the sounds of countless boos from the audience.

"Are you alright, Lady Tia?" one of the medics asked.

"I've been worse…"

Tia tried standing up and walking to the waiting room, but she quickly fell back down. "Damn… take me to the infirmary…"

"Understood."

The medics thus helped Tia up and walked her out of the stadium.

Meanwhile, Suigetsu was walking back to the waiting room himself.

"What just happened, Jugo-san?" Gekido asked in confusion.

"When Lava Style techniques make contact with Water, they harden and turn into concrete. Tia was likely planning to use that trait to defeat Suigetsu's ability, but Suigetsu turned it on her. By shooting water into her mouth right before the lava had a chance to leave, he shut down Tia's Lava Style instead."

Suigetsu returned to meet a furious Yuri:

"Tia… Why did you do that to _**Tia?!**_ "

"What? I saw an opening, so I _took advantage of it_. We're all _ninja_ here; fighting dirty is _part of the MO._ If you want to _avenge_ her, then _win your match_ and _take me on in the next round._ "

Yuri was at a loss for words.

"Next match: Yuri Joki vs. Torasame Hoshigaki!" Chojuro announced.

"Arrgh… fine! Just you wait, Hozuki!" Yuri shouted as he turned his focus to the ring. "My Steam Soldier has never lost, and it isn't going to start losing now!"

Yuri and Torasame then walked out onto the ring and got into position, staring each other down with palpable determination.

"Begin!"

Yuri began this match the same way he began the previous one: clapping his hands together and announcing his technique.

" _ **Boil Style: Steam Soldier Jutsu!**_ "

The crowd exploded with cheer. "Go, Lord Yuri! Destroy the shark!" several fangirls screamed.

While Yuri was transforming and the crowd was rooting for him, strangely enough, Torasame closed his eyes and stood still.

"What's Torasame-san thinking, just standing there?" Gekido thought aloud as he watched.

"He's _not_ just standing there." said Jugo, his voice turning grim. "He's standing _completely still._ "

Suigetsu's jaw dropped and he started to shiver. "You serious about that, Jugo?"

"No doubt in my mind."

As Suigetsu, Jugo, and Gekido were conversing, Yuri was approaching Torasame. Once Yuri was in proximity, Torasame's right hand turned from orange to great white and the man swiftly opened his eyes. He threw a punch with his right hand straight into the Steam Soldier, shocking everyone in the crowd.

What followed would shock them even more.

Most of the steam was absorbed into Torasame's body through his right hand, while the rest solidified into Yuri's body impaled on Torasame's fist through the torso. Torasame then pulled his right hand out of Yuri's body, the fist returning to its original orange colour as it left. Yuri fell limp on the ground, blood leaking out through the wound as well as Yuri's mouth.

Some fans screamed in response to Yuri's condition, while the rest gasped in horror. Furthermore, Chojuro put himself between Torasame and the critically-wounded Yuri with the Body Flicker:

"That's enough! Yuri Joki is unable to continue! The winner is _**Torasame Hoshigaki!**_ "

The crowd was completely silent - too horrified to respond - with one notable exception.

The Water Daimyo was applauding.

"Excellent work, Torasame! After a display like that, I am confident you can win this entire tournament! Only one more obstacle stands in your way!"

As the Daimyo finished, he looked at the base of Urashima Taro's statue and at Suigetsu in particular.

During the Water Daimyo's cheering, medics arrived on the scene to give Yuri immediate assistance and transport him away, but before they could, Yuri spoke up despite his injuries:

"How did you… defeat me?"

Torasame looked down at him and crossed his arms. "Your technique, while indeed impressive, is nothing more than a mass of chakra in the form of steam. Take away your _chakra_ , and I take away your _steam_. It was _easy._ "

" _Easy,_ huh…" Yuri continued to cough up blood as he spoke. "Lady Mei should have never let you comp -"

"You're talking too much!" a medic interrupted. "Let us take you away or you're going to die!"

Yuri silently nodded and allowed himself to be removed from the arena. At the same time, Torasame took yet another look at Killer B before turning away and back to the waiting room, where a frightened Suigetsu, Jugo, and Gekido awaited him.

Torasame offered a handshake. "Let's have a good final match, Suigetsu Hozuki."

Suigetsu reluctantly shook his hand, his fear overpowering any anger he might have responded with otherwise.

"Yeah…"

Mei stood up once again to address the audience. "That ends the Semi-final rounds! Our two _**grand finalists**_ are Suigetsu Hozuki and Torasame Hoshigaki! Who will win the grand prize? Find out _one hour_ from now! Yes, we will be having a one-hour recess to give our finalists a chance to relax and recover before the last matches of the tournament. When we reconvene, we will first have a battle between Tia Terumi and Yuri Joki to determine third place, and once that is over, we will be holding our _**Grand Final Match!**_ If you don't want to miss it, then come back on time! Until then, you're all dismissed!"

In response to Mei's declaration, most of the audience stood up from their seats and left. Meanwhile, the Water Daimyo stood up and waved to Torasame.

"Torasame! We need to talk!" the Daimyo shouted. Torasame walked out of the waiting room and saluted in response.

"As you can see, I have a meeting to attend to this hour. Excuse us." The Water Daimyo said to Mei, who was still standing and turned her head back and to the right to meet his eyes. The Water Daimyo promptly bowed and left his seat with his guard shortly behind him.

 _I should meet up with Chojuro in the meantime…_ Mei thought. She proceeded to turn around herself, but B suddenly stopped her from leaving. "Lord B? What's going on?"

"There's something you gotta know, before the end of the show."

"Okay, what is it?"

[X-X-X]

Meanwhile, at the meeting room…

"I have a meeting with Lord Daimyo. Excuse me."

Torasame bowed and left the waiting room to enter a hall to the side. The others waved goodbye to him before focusing on each other.

"Hmm… I want to see Mother." said Gekido. "I saw her in the stands…"

"You want us to come with you?" Suigetsu asked.

"No thank you. I'll be fine by myself."

"If you insist…"

Suigetsu sighed as Gekido started walking away. "See you soon, Gekido!"

Gekido waved goodbye on his way out while keeping his back turned.

"So what do we do during recess, Suigetsu?" Jugo asked.

"We should go to the infirmary and check up on Tenten and the others."

"Yeah… that's a good idea. I'll follow you."

[X-X-X]

Several minutes passed before Suigetsu and Jugo reached the infirmary. After they received permission from the medics to see their fellow competitors, Suigetsu and Jugo made their way to where they were being treated. They walked in on Yuri just being placed on a bed with his left side facing them, Tia sitting up on a bed just behind his, Tenten lying down on a bed even further behind, and Kukyo just standing up from his bed, the farthest from where Suigetsu and Jugo had entered.

"How's it going, Hozuki?" Tia asked as she saw them coming in.

"Yuri's condition says everything, doesn't it? I'm up against the guy that did this to him, and I can't liquefy unless I want the same thing happening to me."

"I see…"

Tia put a finger on her lips, lost in thought.

"Excuse me, but I'm going to check on Tenten." Jugo said, cutting past Suigetsu and finding his way to her bedside. When he reached it, Tenten opened her eyes to see Jugo looming over her, smiling.

"Jugo? You came to see me?"

The Snake Sage nodded.

"How's the tournament going? Who's in the grand finals?"

"It's Suigetsu vs. Torasame."

Tenten made a faint giggle. "Damn… Here I was hoping you and Suigetsu would fight each other… That way, Gekido's wish would be granted either way…"

Just then, Tenten's eyes widened and she tried looking down to her feet. "Say, could you do me a favour, Jugo?"

"Anything you want, Tenten."

"Can you search the stadium for a Soldier Pill? The medics went through my belongings and counted one less pill than I had when we arrived in the village… I must have dropped it somewhere. Don't stop unless you find it or the grand finals start…"

"Sure thing, Tenten."

Jugo contentedly nodded and walked back out of the room. "Tenten's missing a Soldier Pill. I'm going to look for it." He said to Suigetsu on his way out.

At that moment, Yuri began opening his eyes.

"Tia? Hozuki?"

Suigetsu inched closer and Tia stood up and loomed over Yuri's bedside. Only a moment later, however, Tia promptly kneeled down and hugged Yuri's still-motionless body:

"So you're going to make it! I'm so relieved, Yuri!"

"I'm not going to make it fast enough, I'm afraid… Our match for third place is under an hour away… I won't recover by then…"

Tears started to form in Tia's eyes. "That's okay! We already decided on the swords we wanted before the tournament started, and the only thing on the line in our fight is who gets third pick… it's a meaningless formality for us!"

"Right…"

"What swords _do_ you want?" Suigetsu interjected.

Tia stood up and faced the Hozuki. "I want the Nuibari for its medical applications. You know, being able to sow people back together. And Yuri wants the Shibuki, to combine his Steam Soldier technique with explosives. We were never after the sword _you_ wanted, Hozuki."

"That works out really well, then. … The only problem is Torasame; if he wins and _doesn't_ pick Kabutowari, then one of us is screwed."

"Then you'll just have to win."

Tia smiled as she placed her right hand on Suigetsu's left shoulder. "If anyone can kick Torasame's ass, it's you. Beat him for all of our sakes."

"It's not just for you three!"

Suigetsu and Tia turned toward the voice that interjected to find Kukyo approach them. Kukyo then bowed to Suigetsu's feet:

"Please… the _**whole village**_ is depending on your victory!"

Suigetsu stroked his chin. "The _whole village?_ What do you mean?"

Tia's eyes widened. "I get it! You might be a traitor, but Torasame's an _outsider!_ "

"Yeah! Think about what the other countries will think if some _random nobody outsider_ ends up winning against the whole village on our home turf! They'll think we suck and no one will ever trust us with a mission ever again! But you, Suigetsu Hozuki… you're not some random outsider. You might have betrayed us, but you were still born and raised in the Hidden Mist! The crowd might not like you much, but it'll be on _your side_ in the coming battle. You have to show the stadium - no, the _**world**_ – that it can depend on us!"

Once Kukyo was finished, Tia walked passed him and Suigetsu and opened the door out of the infirmary. She looked back to Suigetsu and said one last thing with a wink before she left:

"I'm going to tell Lady Mei about Yuri's condition and that he won't make it in time for the third place match. As for you, Hozuki… win the _whole damn thing._ "

Kukyo stood up and looked Suigetsu in the eyes. "I'll be watching from the stands. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll be cheering you on." he said. Then he followed Tia out of the infirmary.

"When I said I wanted to play the hero, this isn't what I had in mind…" Suigetsu said aloud, specifically so that Tenten and Yuri could hear it. "… but I can live with it. Gekido, Tia, Yuri, Hidden Mist, everyone… I'll shoulder all your hopes and take them to the very top! Torasame's going down!"

[X-X-X]

Forty-five minutes later…

 _Why did I have to be the one to transport the prizes too, Lady Mizukage?_

Chojuro was pushing a dolly with four empty wooden boxes labeled ' _Kiba_ ', ' _Kabutowari_ ', ' _Shibuki_ ', and ' _Nuibari_ ' stacked on top of each other toward the storage room. During the recess, he was tasked with acquiring the four prizes - the Swords of the Mist - placing them inside the boxes, and bringing them up to the Daimyo's guards. They would hand them to the final four after the grand finals, at which time they would open their prizes all at once.

To his shock, however, when he got to the storage room, he found the door was already open and someone was inside, touching one of the prizes. Chojuro recognized this person on-sight.

"You're not supposed to be here!"

Chojuro let go of the dolly and drew Hiramekarei. The moment he did, however, he saw the intruder disappear and felt a blade plunge into his back.

"I'm sorry, but my wish has to come true one way or another."

Chojuro's body fell limp as the intruder spoke. The intruder then brought Chojuro into the room with the blade still inside him.

The last thing Chojuro saw before losing consciousness was the intruder transforming into Chojuro himself and lifting Hiramekarei off the ground.


	7. Chapter 7: Traitor versus Outsider

It was soon approaching the time for the audience to reconvene and for the grand finals to start. Suigetsu arrived at the waiting room to find Torasame was already there, leaning on a wall with his arms crossed… but no one else.

 _That's strange… I know that Kukyo said he was going to cheer from the stands and Jugo was looking for Tenten's missing Soldier Pill, but Gekido and Tia should have come back by now… Argh… Right now I can't afford to think about anyone else… My only concern is…_

"Hey, Torasame!"

The orange-skinned giant turned his head Suigetsu's way with what seemed to be irritation coming from his face. "What do you want? Make it quick; the longer we talk the more chances we have of giving away our strategies."

"I just wanted to ask: could you pick Kabutowari as your prize? I want Kiba, Tia wants Nuibari, and Yuri wants Shibuki. You picking Kabutowari would give us everything we want."

"Sure. It makes no difference to me which sword I acquire anyway."

Suigetsu grinned. "So you're in it for the _wish_ , then."

"That's none of your business. Better yet, why don't you surrender right now before anyone else gets hurt?"

Suigetsu shook his head. "Fat chance! There's a lot more riding on this fight than just the tournament. I wouldn't give up _even if I wanted to_."

"That's suicidal bravado. For your own sake, don't hold anything back."

"Same goes for you. If you don't give it everything you've got out there, you'll end up in even worse shape than Yuri."

"We've spoken long enough."

Torasame turned his head away and closed his eyes.

"Fine."

Suigetsu turned to face the stadium. He saw several spectators return to their seats, but the crowd was smaller than before. He figured that was only natural, of course; the grand final match was between a traitor and an outsider, so some people were bound to stop caring about the results. However, he was certain the ones that remained were on his side, wanting someone born and raised in the Hidden Mist to defeat the man who appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to decimate the entire village at its own tournament.

But despite the pressure, Suigetsu was calm. He knew what he was doing in this upcoming fight. Jugo warned him that Torasame could not be defeated through conventional methods, and Suigetsu admitted that to be true.

That was why Suigetsu began thinking about _unconventional_ methods, and so he felt confident in his ability to win in spite of the odds stacked against him.

At that moment, Chojuro suddenly appeared and jogged passed him and Torasame toward the arena, which Suigetsu could see was cleaned during the intermission. It was as bright white as it was when the finals started.

"That was a lot of work… thank heavens I made it on time." Chojuro said. "Give it your all, you two…"

Within the next few minutes, the Daimyo and his guard, the Fifth Mizukage, and Killer B emerged from within the king's statue. Mei stood to address the crowd from her previous spot, and the Daimyo's guards were each holding a wooden box.

"Welcome back to the _Strongest Under the Mist_ tournament! During the intermission it came to my attention that Yuri Joki has yet to recover sufficiently for the battle to determine third place! Hence by a previous agreement between the contestants, Yuri Joki forfeits third place to Tia Terumi, and we may begin the Grand Final Match right now! Suigetsu Hozuki, Torasame Hoshigaki, please come out and bring an end to the _Strongest Under the Mist_ tournament!"

At the end of her announcement, Mei sat down. Meanwhile, several members of the audience left their seats and exited the stands, having only come to see the battle for third place.

When Suigetsu and Torasame walked out of the waiting room, initially no one made a sound. However, one person in the front row began chanting:

"Hozuki! _Hozuki!_ _**Hozuki!**_ "

The voice belonged to Kukyo. After repeating his cheer enough times, several others joined him, and by the time the fighters got into the starting position the whole crowd was rooting for Suigetsu to win.

Chojuro got into position and raised his right hand, then issued the same signal he'd used six times already today:

"Begin!"

The very moment Chojuro said that word, Suigetsu brought his hands together and fired water bullets at Torasame with all ten fingers. Torasame managed to dodge most of them, but one of the first ten bullets made him flinch for just long enough that Suigetsu could move his hands such that Torasame would be hit with all ten finger guns at once with each proceeding set of shots before Torasame had the time to react.

Suigetsu unloaded into Torasame incessantly, hundreds of bullets penetrating Torasame's clothes and flesh. When Suigetsu was finished, Torasame had been pushed to the corner of the ring and covered in tiny wounds, blood dripping from every last one. Against any other opponent Suigetsu would have already gone too far and killed them in direct violation of the rules.

"That's -"

Chojuro tried to intervene and stop the match, but someone stopped him:

"No. He can still fight."

It was Suigetsu, whose arms dropped to his sides in slight fatigue.

"What are you saying, Suigetsu-kun? Just look at him!"

"I'm saying he still has a trump card left in store for us."

Suigetsu looked at Torasame with a grin. The giant instinctively recalled their conversation before the match.

"Dammit… Is _this_ what you meant back then?" Torasame asked.

Suigetsu winked. "Bingo! You're going to lose balance and fall out of the ring any second now. If you don't want that to happen, then show us your _**real**_ power! Come on!"

Torasame looked up to the Water Daimyo for a brief second before resolutely nodding and, using all the strength he had left, he pulled a pill out of his pant pocket.

Right at that moment, Jugo – whose Sage Mode had run out during the recess - arrived at the waiting room.

"Sorry I'm late! I came as quickly as I could after telling Tenten I didn't find the -"

Jugo then raised an eyebrow and dropped his jaw upon seeing the heavily-wounded Torasame:

"… pill…"

 _Really… Did Torasame take Tenten's Soldier Pill while we weren't looking?_

Jugo's thoughts would be dashed when he saw what happened next.

Torasame put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it whole. Then he clapped his hands and stood completely still in that position. In the next few seconds, Torasame started to roar, and such an intense chakra emanated from his body that the entire pool was forced out of the ring and drenched the front row, including Kukyo. Furthermore, Suigetsu braced himself by sticking to the ground with chakra and Chojuro ran into the waiting room for his own safety, but still kept an eye on the match due to his job as referee.

Also in response to this wave of chakra, Samehada started to shake uncontrollably. Killer B tried to placate it by holding its hilt and feeding it some of his own chakra, but that only went so far, and Samehada continued to squirm.

Noticing this, Mei immediately stood up and addressed the stadium:

"Audience, evacuate immediately! We will inform you of the results later! It's for your own good!"

In response to the order, the platoons of Hunter Ninja stationed in the stands began to take everyone out of the stadium. Most of the audience left without complaint, but one member was kicking and screaming, begging to be let go so he could see the battle to the very end:

"No… Hozuki's my _**comrade!**_ He needs my support to get through this!"

Again, the voice belonged to Kukyo.

He fought back desperately enough that one of the Hunter Ninja was forced to stab him with a senbon and place Kukyo in a temporary death state to pacify him before being carried out of the stadium.

While the audience was evacuating, Torasame was transforming. All the wounds on his body regenerated in seconds, all of his orange skin turned great white, and the black stripes began glowing orange. In addition, fins protruded out of his arms and a larger one protruded from the back of his head to his mid-back while his hair receded into nothing. Furthermore, the top of his gi - already riddled with holes thanks to Suigetsu - burst apart completely leaving his large, toned chest and ab muscles bare for everyone to see. And lastly, he grew a tail out of his lower back and the gill-like markings on his face became actual gills.

In the middle of all this, Suigetsu tried shooting him once, but the bullet bounced off harmlessly during Torasame's transformation.

Jugo gasped as he recognized the form from Gyuki's memories. "This is…!"

B shook with terror-filled nostalgia. "Hey, hey, hey! That's just like when I fought Kisame!"

"Are you serious, Lord B?!" Mei asked.

"No doubt… But without Samehada I don't see how…"

"So I was right!" Suigetsu remarked as he saw the transformed Torasame before him. "You _**are**_ a Shark Sage!"

" **How did you figure it out?** " Torasame asked. His voice notably hoarser than before and a little distorted.

"Jugo surrendering was my tipoff. Why would Jugo get the urge to transform the _moment_ he stepped into the ring with you? It _could_ have been a coincidence, but what if it wasn't? What if you had a source of _concentrated Natural Energy_ with you? That _**pill**_ you just ate, for instance!"

 _That makes sense… If Torasame could only gather Natural Energy fast enough to transform his right hand against Yuri, he'd have needed an alternate method to use Sage Mode in the heat of battle…_ Jugo thought. _He brought a concentrated Natural Energy pill with him to the finals for just that purpose, but he didn't know the specifics of my Kekkei Genkai, unwittingly triggering me!_

" **Nonetheless… You will regret awakening the** _ **beast.**_ "

Torasame glided to the centre of the ring and made a hand seal. Suigetsu tried shooting his hands before his jutsu - whatever it was - could be completed, but the water was simply absorbed into Torasame's skin instead.

Suigetsu stared at the Shark Sage with anticipation. _Okay, so any water I hit him with gets absorbed in Sage Mode… what now?_

" _ **Water Style: Water Prison Shark Dance!**_ "

Torasame spewed out a liberal amount of water, which surrounded him in a sphere that began to slowly expand in all directions, covering more of the arena by the second. Instinctively, Suigetsu ran backwards at a slightly faster pace than the water approaching him, but he was forced to stop the moment he lost his balance and nearly ran off the edge of the stage.

B did his best to smile through the trip down bad memory lane. "Inside the dome or outside the ring; either way, Torasame's gonna _sing._ " He rhymed.

 _It's a genius move on Torasame's part, I'll give him that._ Jugo thought. _If Suigetsu keeps running, then he'll go out of bounds. If Suigetsu goes in the water and stays solid, then he can't breathe. If Suigetsu goes in the water and becomes water himself, then Torasame will just sense and absorb his chakra, ending the fight right then and there… What are you going to do now, Suigetsu?_

The dome of water kept expanding and Suigetsu had no choice but to take it head on. Seconds before the water consumed him, Suigetsu made a Tiger hand seal and in the next instant, two copies of Suigetsu appeared on either side of him from puffs of water. Suigetsu and the two Water Clones entered the _Water Prison Shark Dance_ simultaneously and all three turned into thin bodies of water, camouflaged with the dome of water and themselves as the three spread apart and circled around Torasame.

Of course, the physical camouflage meant nothing for a Shark Sage.

" **I can still sense your chakra!** " Torasame shouted. _One source has three times the amount of chakra as the other two… That has to be the original!_

Thinking this, Torasame swam for the largest source of chakra. He bit into it and started to absorb the chakra, when all of a sudden the body of water exploded in Torasame's face, absorbing all the chakra at once as the water disappeared.

 _That's not right… The original should have turned solid, not exploded… Unless!_

Torasame turned around in panic to face the two other sources of chakra that quickly merged back into one behind his back.

 _Deliberately giving a Clone more chakra than the original… That's insane! No matter… I'll just absorb all the rest at once!_

Torasame swam up to Suigetsu - still a body of water - as quickly as he could. Suigetsu fled to the edge at the top, but no farther, and awaited the inevitable:

When Torasame was only inches away from Suigetsu, he suddenly stopped as he writhed in pain and the dome of water began to recede into Torasame.

" **No… Not yet!** " the Shark Sage screamed.

Torasame's entire Sage Mode transformation was reversing. His great white skin turned back into orange, his stripes stopped glowing, his fins retracted into his body, his hair grew back out, and his gills returned to being mere markings. Moments after his Sage Mode ran out, the water surrounding him disappeared, and Torasame fell down to the ring back-first near the edge, and Suigetsu fell to the ground beside him, still in the ring, right after.

At that point, Suigetsu solidified once more, standing tall above Torasame. He was gasping for breath and heavily exhausted. "Yeah… I totally get why… Naruto's the only one… who can pull off a stunt like that… on a consistent basis. You still there, Chojuro? ... Start counting…"

"Oh… Right!" Chojuro jogged back out to the arena. "1! … 2! … 3! … 4! … 5! … 6! … 7! … 8! … _9!_ …"

Before Chojuro could reach ten, however, Torasame began standing up, struggling with every muscle he moved. The effort paid off though, and with great difficulty Torasame was standing once again. Suigetsu noticed that, with his hair undone and his robe gone, Torasame looked very different. No longer did he appear to be a stoic, hardened warrior; he now resembled a wild animal desperate to finish off his prey at any cost.

Torasame looked Suigetsu in the eye. "The side-effects of the pill are kicking in… Neither of us has the strength… to continue much longer…"

"I propose… one last attack… We give it everything we have… at the same time…"

Torasame slowly nodded to Suigetsu's offer and raised his right fist for one final punch. "On the count of three. One… two - Argh!"

Torasame looked down to find that both of Suigetsu's fists were enlarged and buried in his stomach. "What?" he asked in shock.

"I can't beat you in a fair fight… so I made it _**un**_ _fair…_ If you were a ninja you would have… seen through it…"

With those last words, Suigetsu pulled his hands out of Torasame's abdomen and the larger man fell back from the impact, just far enough that his head landed outside the ring.

"Out of bounds… the winner is _**Suigetsu Hozuki!**_ " Chojuro screamed with borderline elation.

Suigetsu let himself fall to the ground beside Torasame the moment he heard his name, too exhausted to stand anymore.

Torasame turned his head to look Suigetsu in the eyes. "How did I… lose? Sage Mode… it ran out far too quickly…"

"It was your fight with Yuri… Your right hand changed back right after absorbing Yuri's chakra… I guessed that the more chakra you absorb… the less time you have in Sage Mode… Seems I was right…"

"That's why you gave that clone most of your chakra?"

Suigetsu nodded.

"What was your wish, anyway?" Suigetsu asked. "No harm in telling now that it's over, is there?"

"I wanted to battle Killer B for Samehada. The rules might forbid asking for more swords, but they _don't_ forbid asking for a chance to _fight_ for one…"

Suigetsu chuckled. "Too bad… The only one that's going to kick Killer B's ass and take Samehada… is _me._ My brother was murdered by a third party in a battle with Kisame for Samehada… I have a right to finish what Big Bro started…"

In response to Suigetsu's words, Torasame slowly pointed to the statue of the king's mouth:

"Too bad… You aren't going to get the chance…"

Suigetsu followed Torasame's finger and found he was pointing at the Water Daimyo, who seemed to be grinning despite his champion's recent loss. Suigetsu gasped, and what this sight insinuated drove all the fatigue out of his system, sitting up on reflex as what happened up there occurred.

[X-X-X]

 _It's a shame you lost, Torasame… Now I am forced to take matters into my own hands!_

The Daimyo had snapped his fingers. His guards immediately dropped the prizes and pounced at Killer B from behind.

Before they could reach him, however, the Mizukage quickly spun out of her seat, made a hand seal, and breathed a liberal helping of acid toward them, sticking them all in place with a smile on her face. The Daimyo panicked and stood up from his seat in another attempt at B, but B stood up and punched him in the face, sending a shock into his system.

In the next second, the Daimyo and all his guards were covered in white smoke, and what emerged were five humanoid sharks, like Torasame but smaller and varied in colour.

"How… How were you ready for our attack?" the shark that was disguised as the Daimyo asked.

Killer B started dancing in response:

"When we bumped fists, I could feel your heart of _fish!_ And when it came to intermission, I informed the Lady of your _mission!_ "

"So the whole time… from the very beginning you…"

B nodded with a grin. "That's right. Fools, ya fools!"

"Explain what you're doing here and what happened to the real Lord Daimyo _now._ " Mei demanded.

[X-X-X]

Meanwhile, in the ring…

"What the hell? Five _more_ Kisame's?!" Suigetsu asked with shock.

"It's a long tale…" Torasame said as he too sat up, "… but I'm willing to tell it. It all starts with the lives of those these statues are modeled after: King Ryujin and Urashima Taro…"


	8. Chapter 8: Ryugu Castle

"King Ryujin and Urashima Taro… What do _they_ have to do with you and those other fish people up there, Torasame?" Suigetsu asked.

"To start with, King Ryujin was the king of _our race_ once upon a time."

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. "Wait... you're saying you're _**not**_ human?! Then what the hell _**are**_ you?!"

"We don't really know. We're not entirely human, but not entirely shark either. Millions of years of evolution simply brought about something in between. If you humans came up with a name for our species I don't know it; our people haven't been in extensive contact for over a century now. King Ryujin saw to that."

"What do you mean by _that?_ "

"Before King Ryujin's time, our species were always at war. We don't even remember what started it. Maybe you got jealous and afraid of our longer life spans and superior strength and tried to wipe us out… or maybe our innate gits made us believe we deserved more territory and tried to take that away from you… I don't know. The point is, our kind was always at war with the humans of your country, but King Ryujin wanted to put that conflict to an end. He still _hated_ you all, don't get me wrong, but he saw that the constant battles were dwindling our numbers dangerously close to extinction and opted to seclude our kind from the world than futilely try to take it over. He did two things to accomplish this."

"Two things?"

"The first is that he made a non-aggression treaty with the Water Daimyo at the time; humans don't attack us, and in turn we don't attack humans. All we wanted was for our kind to avoid extinction - and you humans already had your hands full fighting amongst _yourselves_ \- so the agreement worked to both parties' advantage. The second thing King Ryujin did was turn our home lake into an ocean. That made it harder for your kind to attack us just in case one of you betrayed our trust. It had the side-effect of isolating your country from the rest of the continent, but the process occurred over decades of increased rainfall so your kind wouldn't notice King Ryujin's actions. And it didn't violate the rules of the treaty so your kind couldn't justify retaliation even if they found out… King Ryujin was certainly a devious man when he wanted to be."

"Not half as devious as some of _our_ kind." Suigetsu remarked with a pained grin. "But something must have changed about that agreement, what with you, Kisame, and the others showing up."

"That's where Urashima Taro comes in, and with him, King Ryujin's daughter, Princess Otohime. She, unlike her father, believed that our kind could co-exist peacefully with humans and wanted to interact with them. But she wouldn't dare betray her father's treaty, so she opted to watch humans from a distance disguised as _an ordinary shark._ "

"But then Taro saved Otohime from poachers and she took him to her home as thanks for saving her life! I know that much from the legends, and they totally contradict the story you've been telling so far! Otohime bringing Taro to your place would have violated the treaty!"

"And Princess Otohime considered Taro evidence that the treaty was wrong in the first place. She argued with King Ryujin over it in a very heated debate when she introduced Taro to him, but the point was that if Taro was nice enough to save her and listen to her request even after she outed herself as one of _us_ , then some humans could be trusted and were worth consorting with, and the treaty denied both of our kind that potential. King Ryujin didn't believe her at the outset, but he was willing to give her a chance, and came up with a way to prove her case. Taro would return to the surface world with a gift, and Taro would leave something behind in order for Princess Otohime to monitor his movements."

Suigetsu stroked his chin. "That gift… what was it?"

"You've already seen it." Torasame chuckled. "King Ryujin removed a piece of his skin and crafted a tool with it - a means for a human to utilize King Ryujin's own powers - intent on seeing whether or not Taro could use them responsibly."

"A piece of a _shark's skin…_ you don't mean _**Samehada**_ do you?!"

Torasame silently nodded in response.

"Did you just say _Samehada?_ "

Jugo promptly ran out of the waiting room. He sat down next to Suigetsu and Torasame in curiosity. "Tenten, Killer B, and I were looking for its place of creation." he said.

"You came to the right place, buddy." Suigetsu remarked, pointing at Torasame. "This guy just told me _how it was made._ "

"You… you did?" Jugo asked Torasame in disbelief.

Torasame looked down in shame. "Yes… not that I'm allowed to take you there. Ryugu Castle is currently not accepting any visitors."

"Why not?"

"That'll be explained later. Right now Suigetsu and I were in the middle of something else."

"Yeah. Taro left something behind." Suigetsu recalled. "What was it?"

"The very same thing King Ryujin parted with: a piece of himself. Taro imbued a jewel with some of his chakra, which allowed Princess Otohime to watch his movements at any time, as if one were to use a crystal ball. After the exchange was made Princess Otohime sent Taro back home, where he would help build this very stadium in King Ryujin's honour. He would also become the first leader of what you call the _Seven Swordsmen of the Mist_ in his attempt to prove himself to King Ryujin. Things… got worse from there."

"They obviously did if you're here now." said Jugo. "Could you go into a little more detail?"

"I was planning to. … At any rate, thanks to Samehada's creation, it left King Ryujin with an area without skin. That area got infected and in due time he died of illness. At that point, Princess Otohime succeeded him and became _Queen_ Otohime. As expected of her, she ruled benevolently and efficiently while still making time to check on Taro occasionally. Over time, they both grew older and Queen Otohime began to sire heirs. While Queen Otohime's children were still in the womb, the worst possible tragedy occurred… Urashima Taro was _murdered_ _by his own subordinate_ while Queen Otohime was watching, cutting off contact with him permanently."

"That really sucks…" Suigetsu solemnly remarked.

"Queen Otohime suspects that Taro's untimely death weakened her spiritually, and as a result, instead of giving birth to possibly _dozens_ of children, she only carried _two_ to term…"

Suddenly, Torasame formed a faint grin:

"… Ironically, that might also be the reason her children developed such monstrous amounts of chakra, even for _our_ species."

Jugo's jaw dropped. "You don't mean…"

"I do. Kisame and myself; we are, or _were_ , Queen Otohime's only children. I'm the son of Queen Otohime, and the grandson of King Ryujin."

"So that story about being only distantly related was a bunch of _bullshit!_ " Suigetsu accused with a point. "You and Kisame really _**were**_ twin brothers!"

"That was an old cover story from back when our species were at war with each other. Any time one of our kind had to come to the surface to do reconnaissance work behind enemy lines, they'd adopt the surname _Hoshigaki_ as a means of claiming they were from a human clan that unfortunately looked like us."

"Anyway, I don't get what you mean when you say that Taro's death resulted in your chakra supply getting so big." said Jugo.

Torasame stroked his chin. "How do I put it? … I know… Did you know that most species of shark are _ovoviviparous?_ That means the eggs hatch inside the mother's body before they're born. But sometimes the number of eggs hatched is different than the number of children that leave the womb. Why is that, you might be wondering? … _**Cannibalism;**_ the siblings start eating each other the moment they hatch. That goes _double_ for a mother too weak to provide sustenance for her children, forcing the pups to fend for themselves, resulting in even _less_ offspring that survive the fratricidal warfare… That happened to us. Kisame and I devoured all one hundred of our siblings _and their chakra,_ giving us fifty times the usual amount each at birth, and our reserves grew proportionally with our bodies."

"How can you be so sure of what happened _during your own birth?_ " Suigetsu asked, shivering in morbid fascination.

"Mother… Queen Otohime sensed it happening inside herself. She _**is**_ what you would call the _Great Shark Sage_ , after all. The current one, anyway."

"So why did Kisame join the Hidden Mist?" Jugo wondered.

"Yeah… that violates the non-aggression treaty!" Suigetsu added.

"That was Mother's idea. After Taro's passing, Queen Otohime was stricken with grief and despair… She came to believe that Taro was the _exception_ of the human race rather than the _rule_ , and she conspired to take Samehada back, unable to trust humanity with King Ryujin's remains anymore. So she sent my brother – Kisame - to the surface to ultimately retrieve Samehada and return it to Ryugu Castle where it rightfully belonged, and even had him tracked the same way Taro once was. But in order to keep up appearances and better integrate into human society, Queen Otohime _erased Kisame's memories of his mission_ in such a way that he would only regain them once he touched Samehada. The plan was to have Kisame acquire Samehada and return home immediately… but he never came back. He refused to complete his mission, dying after taking Samehada but before coming home. And to make matters worse, we lost track of Samehada's whereabouts after that since his connection to Mother's jewel was severed."

At that moment, Torasame's voice softened and he looked away in sorrow:

"Do you… Do you know why my brother betrayed us? Mother came to believe that he was being brainwashed just like the Fourth Mizukage. First by Obito, then by Itachi, and then by Obito again after Itachi's death… but that's not true, is it?"

Suigetsu shook his head. "No, it's not. Almost his entire career involved killing fellow Mist ninja to protect village secrets, including Samehada's previous wielder, Fuguki Suikazan. Why Kisame took so many missions of that nature was a mystery even to himself. Learning the truth would have only made things _worse:_ it made his entire existence as a Mist ninja one _**big, fat, lie.**_ Regaining one set of memories doesn't mean the other ones go away; the soul is more complicated than that. And then he learns that the man he thought he was serving was being brainwashed only minutes later? All that disillusionment at once would be enough for _anyone_ to wish to be placed in an eternal genjutsu, if only to avoid being _lied to_ ever again. Kisame probably thought Infinite Tsukiyomi was the deception to end all deceptions… Obito might have manipulated Kisame onto that path by assigning him his missions, but the choice to follow him on the Moon Eye Plan was Kisame's alone."

"That explains why Obito wiped the village's records…" Jugo said. "He must have used them to predict Kisame's purpose for being a Mist ninja and destroyed all the evidence used in his discovery. He wouldn't want the Fifth Mizukage recognizing that Kisame was from Ryugu Castle and that Queen Otohime wanted Samehada back. If they did, then they could alert Queen Otohime about Kisame's betrayal, and then Akatsuki would have to deal with a _whole army of Shark Sages_ , starting a war when one wouldn't be profitable. He would have rather left Ryugu Castle scratching their heads over Kisame's failure than give them definite answers and prompt a response."

"Enough talking about the past…" Torasame looked to Suigetsu and Jugo again, "It's time we talked about the present."

"It is true you haven't even _started_ talking about why you and the others came here." Suigetsu remarked.

"That's what I was getting to. … We learned about the Fourth Ninja World War from our observations of Kisame. We decided to lay low and avoid confronting anyone until after the war ended, and once it did, Mother sent me up to the surface to act as the Water Daimyo's bodyguard. We knew the Hidden Mist's information network was compromised, so we took a _different_ approach to finding Samehada's whereabouts. It was while I was working under Lord Daimyo that I discovered that the wielder of Samehada was a Cloud ninja by the name of Killer B. I also learned that the Mizukage was planning a tournament where the winner could be granted any wish, and that Lord Daimyo wanted me to enter. I planned on using Lady Mizukage's wish to ask for Killer B's whereabouts so that I could locate him and challenge him for Samehada's ownership. Little did I know Killer B would end up watching the very tournament I was going to participate in! Mother knew of this at the same moment I did - thanks to watching me through her jewel - when I saw Samehada at Bamboo Blade Battlefield yesterday, and our plans… changed."

"You were able to change your wish to challenging Killer B directly, since he was already attending and didn't need to be found." Jugo inferred.

Torasame looked up to the mouth of King Ryujin's statue. "That wasn't the _only_ change. Mother wasn't going to let this chance at Samehada slip away. In case I lost - and I _did_ \- she needed some way to infiltrate the tournament and take Samehada _by force._ Hence she had five subjects come to the surface, abduct Lord Daimyo and his other guards and transform into them, taking their place at the tournament. And even if, somehow, someone saw through that plan, we still have Lord Daimyo held hostage _._ I was not informed of this myself until the hour break before the grand finals just now… and I suspect that my compatriots are using Lord Daimyo as ransom for Samehada as we speak."

Once Torasame was finished, Suigetsu laughed hysterically.

Torasame's eyes narrowed. "I fail to see the humor in this situation."

"I already told you this before, but…" Jugo said, "… Tenten, Killer B, and I were heading to Ryugu Castle _anyway._ All you had to do was ask; Queen Otohime didn't need to resort to _kidnapping the Daimyo_ to get her hands on Samehada."

"Jugo said it, yeah!" Suigetsu added through his laughter.

"I see your point, but I'm not sure if Mother could ever trust a human with Samehada again…" Torasame said as he stood up. "She'd confiscate it the second she sees you with it."

"Then Jugo and Killer B have just got to restore the queen's faith in humanity, that's all!" Suigetsu replied, standing up himself. "If anyone can do it, they can! You guys became friends with Gyuki and _all the animals on Turtle Island_ , didn't you, Jugo?!"

Jugo stood up in turn. "Yes, we did. Torasame, or should I say _Prince_ Torasame… it would be my honour if you took Tenten, Killer B, and me to Ryugu Castle. We'll do everything we can to save Queen Otohime and help her trust humanity again."

"I would appreciate it; I'll even help you." Torasame smiled. "From my time on the surface I've been convinced that our species can co-exist peacefully so long as we put in the effort to understand each other, just like Mother was long ago."

At that moment, Suigetsu crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow:

"Hey… not to delve too off-topic, but there's something I've been wondering. I won't be coming with Jugo and the others, so I have to know… is your mom _really_ as beautiful as the legend says she is? One account even claims that Otohime was so _drop-dead gorgeous_ that any human man who laid eyes on her would be doomed to never be aroused by human women again. I find that tidbit rather hard to believe…"

"Mother was certainly that beautiful by _**our**_ standards." Torasame pointed to his own face with a confident smile. "Still is, too. She was only a _teenager_ when she met Urashima Taro. It's been nearly a century since then, and Mother looks around the same age as Lady Mizukage. Maybe a little younger... If anything, she has only become even more beautiful with time. And once her heart's been saved and she begins to smile again, her beauty may improve even further…"

"Is that… _normal_ for you people?" Suigetsu asked. "Ageing the equivalent of only _fifteen human years_ or so in the span of a _century_ once you've hit puberty?"

"Oh, yes. I believe I told you that we have _rather long lives._ "

"But that's…!" Suigetsu's eye twitched. "That makes the Uzumaki clan seem downright _**ordinary**_ by comparison!"

"Regardless, I find it odd that your kind would _also_ see Mother as an example of ideal beauty." Torasame stroked his chin, lost in thought. "Our tastes are fundamentally varied; what _**you**_ consider beautiful and what _**I**_ consider beautiful are two _very different_ understandings of the word…"

"I think it may be because of Urashima Taro." Jugo interjected, catching Torasame's and Suigetsu's attention. "The opinion on Queen Otohime's beauty could only come from someone who's _seen_ her, and the only human who saw Queen Otohime in her true form - aside from the Water Daimyo and his other guards as of last night - was _Urashima Taro himself_. Despite all cultural differences Queen Otohime must have appeared beautiful _**to Taro**_ , at least."

"There's only one way to find out for sure, man!" Suigetsu said with a grin. "It's a good thing Tenten's going to be right there with you! That way she can screw that _arousal resistance_ out of you before it takes too strong a hold!"

Jugo meekly looked aside and blushed. "Uh… I have no comment…"

At that moment, Mei suddenly appeared before the three of them, having used the Body Flicker technique to reach the ring from her altitude. She cheerfully waved them all hello:

"That was certainly a thrilling _Grand Final Match_ , wasn't it, men?"

All three turned their heads her way and nodded in response, and Chojuro also faced her from where he was standing in the ring.

"What brings you down here, Mizukage?" Suigetsu asked.

"I've recently been informed that Lord Daimyo and his guard have been kidnapped by the people of Ryugu Castle. We agreed upon an exchange: Jugo, Tenten, and Killer B would be taken to Ryugu Castle along with Samehada, and in return Lord Daimyo is sent back up to our country along with his guard. Torasame, you will be present for both transactions, since Queen Otohime can track your movements and make sure everything runs smoothly. In the meantime, until the ceremony is over our _shark friends_ have agreed to don their disguises once more and participate as originally planned; no need to cause a panic by revealing Lord Daimyo's status to the masses. With the sole exception of Tenten, no one outside the stadium is to be informed of this mission until _**after**_ Lord Daimyo has been returned safely home. Is that understood?"

Suigetsu, Jugo, Torasame, and Chojuro saluted in unison. "Yes, mam!"

Mei looked behind her shoulder to meet her assistant's eyes. "Chojuro!"

"Yes, Lady Mizukage?!"

"Leave the stadium and inform the audience and security that the _Grand Final Match_ is over and that they should return to their seats. And could you try to find Tia while you're at it? I haven't seen her since she told me about Yuri's condition, and I wouldn't want for _two_ winners to miss opening their _prizes._ "

With a quick nod, Chojuro swiftly left the stadium through the waiting room.

The _Strongest Under the Mist_ tournament might have been over, but Suigetsu's prize still eluded his grasp. It was only a matter of time before he received it in its full glory.


	9. Chapter 9: The Prizes

Ryujin Stadium was soon filled with the people that evacuated it in response to Torasame's transformation. Unfortunately, Chojuro returned to the ring to inform the Fifth Mizukage that Tia could not be found and that the prize ceremony had to be done without her. The Mizukage reluctantly went ahead with the ceremony and had Jugo and Torasame go back to the waiting room, had Chojuro stand on the walkway between the waiting room and the ring, and stood in the centre of the arena with Suigetsu at her side. She then looked up to the crowd to address her audience:

"Ladies and Gentlemen! I am very happy to announce that the _Grand Champion_ of the _Strongest Under the Mist_ tournament is _**Suigetsu Hozuki!**_ "

Mei grabbed Suigetsu's right hand with her left and eagerly raised it into the air. With the entire crowd cheering him on, Suigetsu had difficulty focusing on the applause and looked down bashfully. After a few seconds, however, Suigetsu looked up and smiled wide, showing off his sharp teeth for everyone to see.

When the applause and cheer died down, Mei brought Suigetsu's hand down to their sides and faced him with a smile:

"So champion, you've earned the _grand prize_ of one wish from yours truly! What is your heart's desire? Your wish is my command!"

 _Dammit… where are you, Gekido?! I can't make your wish for you if I don't even know your dad's name!_ Suigetsu thought. "Actually, Mizukage… I was going to let Gekido make his wish if I won." He said. "But he's not here…"

At that moment, Suigetsu looked up into the crowd and screamed:

"Hey, Gekido! If you're with your mom in the stands, now would be a good time to come down and make your wish!"

No one descended.

To make matters worse, Gekido's mother was silent. Suigetsu did not know what she looked like, but he did remember what she sounded like from when she cheered Gekido on during his fight, and that voice wasn't talking. It was as if Gekido vanished from the stadium right when Suigetsu needed his presence most. Fearing for the boy's safety, Suigetsu immediately ran for Chojuro and started shaking him:

"Chojuro… Did you happen to see Gekido when you were trying to find Tia?!"

"No… I'm sorry, Suigetsu-kun…"

Suddenly, Suigetsu let Chojuro go and began walking back to Mei with a grim determination on his face.

"Then I know what I'm wishing for."

"Please think it over again!" Chojuro objected, causing Suigetsu to stop and look over his shoulder in confusion, but also with thinning patience. "I know Gekido-kun… He wouldn't want you to waste your wish trying to find him. You wish for yourself; _**I**_ willmake sure Gekido-kun is safe."

"Okay… I trust you. Save Gekido for me, would you, Chojuro?"

"Yes… I'll definitely do that."

With those final words, Chojuro left the stadium through the waiting room.

Satisfied with the situation, Suigetsu walked back up to the arena and faced Mei. "Have you changed your mind as to what your wish will be?" the Mizukage asked.

"Yeah… I've reconsidered. See, the thing is there's this woman I want to marry."

Mei's eyes glowed ecstatically. "Oh, do you mean -"

"No."

Mei hung her head in shame.

 _You're the second Kage I've had to reject in front of a wide audience now… Sheesh…_ Suigetsu thought.

"So why did you bring it up _at all?_ " Mei asked with one eye twitching as she could barely hold her smile together.

"Well, I was thinking that before I can get married, I'm going to need to _buy my own house._ And in order to buy a house, I'm going to need _lots of money._ And to get a lot of money, I need a _job._ That leads me to my wish. I wish to be _**reinstated as a Hidden Mist ninja**_ and made _**your official ambassador in the Hidden Leaf Village!**_ "

The crowd went silent at the proclamation.

Kukyo started to cry from the stands. "Hozuki… you missed us all this time?"

Mei relaxed her smile. "Hmm… I thought as much."

Suddenly, Mei reached into her cleavage with her right hand, pulled out a black headband with the Hidden Mist Village's insignia on the forehead protector, and placed it in Suigetsu's hands:

"That's why I brought this. Your old headband is too small for you _now._ "

Suigetsu looked down at the headband in his hands with awe. "No way…! Is this?!"

"Yes it is. We recovered Mangetsu's headband along with his body. And just in case you came crawling back to us… I kept it."

Suigetsu was barely able to contain his tears. "Mizukage… thank you so much!"

"What are you waiting for, Champion?" Mei asked with a smirk. "Put it on."

Without a word, Suigetsu nodded and wrapped Mangetsu's headband around his head, underneath his bangs, careful to have the forehead protector neatly protect the forehead. Once he was finished, he looked back up to face the Mizukage:

"How does it look on me, Mizukage?"

"Yeah…" Mei blushed his way once more, "… just as handsome as Mangetsu."

After her brief stint of ogling was over, Mei once again held Suigetsu's right hand with her left and raised it for the crowd to see. "Once again, our _Grand Champion_ and official _Hidden leaf Ambassador_ , _**Suigetsu Hozuki!**_ "

The audience exploded with cheer and applause once more. "Hozuki! _Hozuki!_ _**Hozuki!**_ " many fans, including Kukyo, shouted several time with elation.

"I must ask that you hold your applause! While the _Grand Prize_ has been given, there are still more prizes to be handed out! Would Lord Daimyo's guard and the remaining _final four_ please come down!"

Upon Mei's instructions, Torasame walked out of the waiting room, having done his hair in the interim, and the Daimyo's guard – who were actually four shark people in disguise - used the Body Flicker to descend to the ring with the prizes in hand.

"Unfortunately, Tia Terumi and Yuri Joki are unable to attend and so will receive their swords at a later time!" Mei shouted. "Right now, we will hand out the prizes that our grand finalists desire! First our _Grand Champion_ will make his selection, then our runner-up, and then both will open their prizes simultaneously! That being said… Champion, which sword do you want to claim?"

"That's easy… I want the Kiba!"

"And you, Torasame Hoshigaki?"

"Kabutowari."

"Very well! Hand out the prizes!"

Mei promptly stepped out of the way. Once she made some distance, the guard with the Kiba approached Suigetsu, the guard with Kabutowari approached Torasame, and both laid their prize boxes on the ground at the winners' feet.

"Grand finalists! Open your prizes now!"

At the end of Mei's command, the crowd went wild with cheer and Suigetsu and Torasame started opening the boxes.

Suigetsu was beyond excited to open his prize. After bonding with Gekido and the rest of his fellow contestants, dealing with boos from the crowd, and his hard-earned victory against Torasame, he more than deserved the Kiba. He was so happy to finally have a Sword of the Mist back in his hands that he was already imagining himself practicing with the Kiba and using it in battle against the Hokage after he returned to the Hidden Leaf.

And this excitement was also the reason why what followed tore him to pieces.

"What… what the hell is this?!" Suigetsu shouted in anger as he clearly saw his prize for the first time. "Mizukage… Something's wrong with my prize!"

Mei quickly went to Suigetsu's side with concern. "What are you talking about, Champ -"

It was then that she saw it: one of the two swords was nothing more than an assortment of sharp metal objects sloppily glued together. Its shape and depth resembled the Kiba, but its composition couldn't be further from it.

"One half of my prize is a forgery! And a really _shitty_ forgery at that!"

The crowd gasped with shock in response to Suigetsu's claim.

"What's the meaning of this, Mizukage?!" Suigetsu shouted.

"I don't know!" Mei shouted in turn. "Chojuro assured me nothing was wrong with the prizes when he handed them to Lord Daimyo's guard before the Grand Finals!"

Suigetsu shook his head. "No way! Chojuro wouldn't make an oversight like that!"

"You're… right."

Suddenly, Mei stood up and looked a Hunter Ninja in the stands square in the mask:

"Attention! The Chojuro that just left the arena is an _impostor_ using the _**Transformation Jutsu!**_ Find him and subdue him immediately! He's most likely responsible for sabotaging our champion's prize!"

"Yes, My Lady!" four Hunter Ninja replied as they saluted and then ran off to search the premises for Chojuro's impostor.

Suigetsu started to shiver. "Are you sure that Chojuro was an impostor?"

"Looking back… I'm certain of it." Mei sombrely nodded as she kneeled back down and placed an arm around Suigetsu, holding him steady. "When Torasame was about to transform, Chojuro didn't use chakra to stick to the ground like when Tenten used the Bashosen; he _ran_ instead. Ask yourself: why would Chojuro's reaction change?"

"Because he was an impostor… and the surge of chakra could have disrupted his Jutsu and _ended his transformation prematurely…_ And he just promised me he'd _look after Gekido…_ _**Dammit!**_ "

"What's going on?!" a feminine voice shouted from inside the waiting room.

"Tenten? You're better now?" Jugo asked.

"Yeah… Now's not the time, though! I saw four Hunter Ninja run past me on my way here! What's happening?!"

" _ **This**_ is happening, Tenten!" Suigetsu shouted from inside the ring. He liquefied to escape Mei's hold, then grabbed half of Kiba and the forgery in each of his hands, and then quickly ran down the walkway to the waiting room. Suddenly, however, the forgery shattered into pieces and fell on the floor at his and Tenten's feet.

"Someone tampered with my prize!" Suigetsu continued. "And what's worse is that they're an impostor of Chojuro that's after Gekido!"

During Suigetsu's rant, however, Tenten's attention was caught by the shards on the floor and she let out a gasp. Then tears began to fall as she recognized every last shard on the floor from her adventure the previous night:

"No… You have it all wrong… The impostor isn't _after_ Gekido… the impostor _**IS**_ Gekido!"

The accusation shook Suigetsu to the core.

"What are you saying, Tenten? What makes you think _**Gekido**_ did this?!"

"I saw those same fragments last night in the basement! Gekido was staying up late working on them. He said he wanted to use the blade in the finals… I had no idea _**this**_ is what he was talking about!"

"Didn't you get him to stop and go to bed, though?" Jugo asked.

"Actually… I never saw him _go to sleep._ He could have went _right back to working on the forgery_ after I dozed off."

"But Gekido didn't bring that forgery with him!" Suigetsu objected. "We saw him get ready this morning! And he couldn't _**possibly**_ have the speed to run to the house and back in under an hour! Not with being sleep-deprived and fighting me! And even if he did by sprinting the whole way, he couldn't have _also_ had the stamina to transform into Chojuro and carry Hiramekarei around while keeping the jutsu up! He'd be too tired to run anymore, and even a _bamboo sword_ is too heavy for Gekido to lift, let alone a behemoth like Hiramekarei!"

"I hate to admit it, but there's a way around all those problems." said Jugo. "Tenten's missing Soldier Pill. I couldn't find it… because Gekido might have _eaten it_ last night. It would have kept him in peak physical condition the whole time. Then he could have work on the forgery through the night, sprint all the way to the house and back to obtain it, then pick Hiramekarei up using all the strength he could muster… and keep it on his back during his entire impersonation of Chojuro. He wouldn't get tired through any of it if he ate a Soldier Pill."

Suigetsu began to cry. "I can't believe you guys! All of that is _**circumstantial!**_ There's no proof Gekido ate the Soldier Pill, no proof he went back to get the forgery, and no proof he impersonated Chojuro! What happened to the _real_ Chojuro, huh?! And what about the other half of the Kiba?! What happened to them?! And what about _**Tia?!**_ She's unaccounted for in this whole mess too, and she knows where Gekido lives! And unlike Gekido, Tia's strong enough to accomplish everything you're accusing Gekido of _without_ having to rely on a Soldier Pill!"

"So they've shaken you up pretty badly too, huh."

Everyone's attention was caught by this new voice – again a woman's - interjecting. Suigetsu, Tenten, and Jugo turned farther into the waiting room to find Tia crossing her arms with disappointment.

"Bad enough to make you accuse a _Good Samaritan_ like me…"

Tenten gasped. "Tia?!"

"There's no time! Out of the way!"

Tia sprinted past Tenten, Jugo, and finally Suigetsu and entered the arena in a panic.

" _ **Lady Tia!**_ " the audience cheered with glee as she made her last-minute appearance.

" _ **Mei!**_ Give me my prize! Nuibari!" Tia demanded.

 _No 'Lady', Tia? This must be serious…_ the Mizukage thought as she silently motioned for the guard with Nuibari to lay her prize on the ground in front of her.

"Thank you!"

Tia ripped her prize box open as quickly as she could, pulled out Nuibari, and then promptly ran back to Suigetsu and the others.

Torasame raised an eyebrow, dumbfounded by Tia's haste. _Is that girl really that afraid of me?_ He thought.

"What's wrong?!" Tenten asked Tia, distraught.

Tia didn't bother to stop as she answered, running past them again with Nuibari in tow:

"Follow me to the infirmary if you want to know! Chojuro's life is in danger!"

Without another word, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Tenten unanimously decided to follow her.

[X-X-X]

"What have you been doing since you left to tell the Mizukage about Yuri?" Jugo asked Tia during their rush for the infirmary.

"I decided to walk back to the infirmary to see Yuri one more time before heading to the waiting room for the Grand Finals. Along the way I heard someone banging on the storage room door from the inside. I opened it to find Chojuro sitting in the room with no Hiramekarei and a blade poking out of his gut! Chojuro was stabbed in the back! I couldn't take the blade out without killing him at the time, so I healed what I could with the blade still in there and then walked him to the infirmary… I made sure to keep the blade steady by holding the hilt as we walked. When we made it there, you'd just left, Tenten. I sat Chojuro down on one of the beds, and then the medics took a closer look at his wounds. They said that we could remove the blade if we stitched the wound up immediately after, but they just ran out of stitches! Then I thought ' _wait a minute: Nuibari can stitch Chojuro back up, and that's my prize!_ ' So I told them that I'd get my prize and come right back, but as soon as I left the infirmary, the halls were packed with audience and security! I couldn't get anywhere until after they left for the stadium again!"

"Then you went there as quickly as you could and grabbed Nuibari, and now you're on your way back." Tenten surmised.

Tia nodded. "It's really strange. Whoever stabbed Chojuro was careful enough to avoid all his vitals… and kind enough to leave the blade in to keep him from bleeding out. It's almost as if they left Chojuro alive _on purpose…_ Oh, we're here!"

At that moment Tia stopped and entered the infirmary. The others followed suit. Surely enough, Chojuro was sitting on a bed, being held still be two medics, with the tip of a blade poking out of his lower torso and Hiramekarei nowhere in sight.

"Chojuro!" said Suigetsu as he rushed to his side on first instinct. One of the medics brushed him aside and caused him to trip and fall to the ground. "What was that for?!" the Hozuki asked in panic.

"Chojuro-kun needs to be _very still;_ any sudden moves and the blade risks cutting into a vital organ." One medic explained. "If you want to be of some help, get behind us and pull the blade out in _precisely the way it came in_. Then Lady Tia can sow the wound up with Nuibari and we can heal the rest from there."

"Uh… Yes mam…"

Suigetsu stood up, gave a complying nod, and let his half of the Kiba on the ground. Then he got behind Chojuro and placed his right hand steady on the blade's hilt - which protruded from Chojuro's lower back - while he placed his left hand on Chojuro's shoulder to help stabilize his body for the impending removal.

"Lady Tia, get into position!" the other medic commanded. Tia silently nodded, stepped forward, and readied Nuibari, wrapping its wire around the length of the blade an arm's length away from Chojuro's torso.

"You ready?" the medics asked in unison.

Suigetsu and Tia nodded in tandem. "Yeah."

"Then… start!"

At the medics' behest, Suigetsu swiftly and carefully pulled the blade out of Chojuro's body, taking a copious amount of blood with it. Before Chojuro could lose much more blood, however, Tia poked through Chojuro's wound with Nuibari without touching his innards and then jerked Nuibari in a twist. The length of thread on Nuibari's blade spun outward, hitting the wound in several places all along the length of the wound. Once Tia felt them all hit, she yanked Nuibari out of Chojuro's body, twisting the wound shut with Nuibari's thread on the blade's way out.

" _ **AAAAHHHH!**_ "

Chojuro screamed in terrible pain as the feeling of his wound closing inside and outside his body forced him to try lying on his back in reflex. Suigetsu leapt out of the way as the medics helped Chojuro's back to the bed and they began healing the rest of his wound.

While the medics were healing Chojuro, Suigetsu decided to wash the blood of the sword off in a nearby sink. After a minute or so of cleaning, he finally realized what blade he was holding in his hand, and looked to the floor next to Chojuro's bed on instinct.

 _This is… the Kiba… the other half of Kiba!_

Suigetsu ran to the half he let down earlier after quickly turning off the tap. He picked up the other Kiba with his free hand and looked at them together.

 _Whoever stabbed Chojuro with this half of the Kiba… That's our impostor._

Suigetsu brought the swords down to his sides and attached them to his belt, one blade on each hip. After that, he walked back over to Chojuro, ready to at last put all his doubts to rest.

"You're free to speak now, Chojuro-kun." One of the medics said as the two finished healing him and he tried standing up, which he managed to accomplish surprisingly easily despite the wire lodged inside him keeping his wound closed.

"Thank you very much."

Chojuro bowed to the medics, then swiftly turned and bowed to Tia. "You especially, Tia-san… I might be dead by now if you didn't come to my rescue."

"No time for thanks, Chojuro." Suigetsu interjected from behind him. Chojuro turned around to meet him in the eyes. "Tell us who stabbed you, please…"

"I'm not sure why, but… it was _Gekido-kun._ "

Suigetsu trembled in despair, barely able to keep himself solid as he heard Chojuro speak. _No… So Tenten and Jugo were right?! What the hell was going through your head, Gekido?!_

"When I was going to the storage room to insert the prizes in their containers, I saw that Gekido-kun had broken in, and he was trying to switch one of the Kiba swords with a fake." Chojuro explained. "I told him he was not allowed in there and drew Hiramekarei, but the next moment he vanished and the Kiba he was holding was plunged into my back… Then I saw Gekido-kun transform into me, place Hiramekarei at his back with all of his strength, put the remaining half of Kiba into the prize box with the fake, and finally lock me inside the storage room after putting the other prizes where they needed to go."

Jugo dropped his jaw. "Assault, forgery, theft, trespassing, and impersonation all within the span of an hour… He could end up in prison for years for what he did today…"

"Why did Gekido… do all these things?" Suigetsu meekly asked.

"That's what I want to know…" Chojuro replied.

"There's only one way to find out." said Tenten. "We have to track him down and _ask him ourselves._ The Hunter Ninja looking for him might kill him before we get our answers."

"If that's the case, then we have no time to waste." Suigetsu added. "Tia, you go back to the arena and tell the Mizukage to call off the search."

"Okay, but what do we do about the crowd? Once the search is over no one will have any reason to stay here… The village is going to be _**packed**_ again, and those are no conditions to be conducting a search in!"

"Leave that to me."

Everyone spun around to find that Yuri was getting out of his bed, apparently recovered.

"Tia… we still haven't had our match. The crowd will stay for _that._ I need to grab my prize anyway."

"I guess either Torasame-san or Lady Mizukage could be your referee…" Chojuro suggested. "I'm okay with it. Any more objections?"

Everyone shook their heads in refusal.

Tia promptly opened the door out of the infirmary. "Alright then! We'll keep the crowd busy as long as we can! Find Gekido quickly!"

She then quickly left the infirmary with Yuri closer behind her.

"Jugo, start gathering Natural Energy," Suigetsu said. "Gekido was _right beside you_ while you were in Sage Mode an hour ago, so you should have sensed his chakra signature. I know your sensing range isn't close to Karin's level, but you're the best we got right now."

Jugo silently nodded and then sat down completely still, beginning to gather Natural Energy.

In the next few minutes, Suigetsu would embark on his first mission as a reinstated Mist ninja in earnest.


	10. Chapter 10: A Wish Come True

Mei was addressing the increasingly restless crowd.

"Please remain calm and _stay in your seats!_ We have a dangerous criminal that may still be in the facility! For your own safety, stay where we can see you!"

 _For everyone's sake, I hope the criminal's been stopped by now…_ she thought.

Just then, the team of Hunter Ninja returned to the arena through the waiting room and faced the Mizukage at attention. "Lady Mizukage! Unfortunately, we could not find the criminal anywhere on Ryujin Stadium grounds!" one of them said.

Mei bit her lip. "Then they've already escaped and are _loose in the village…_ Expand your search!"

"No! Don't do that!"

Mei, Torasame, and the Hunter Ninja turned to the waiting room where they heard the interjecting voice to find Tia rushing into the ring with Yuri just behind her. " _ **Lord Yuri?!**_ " several fans screamed as he entered the ring and jogged up to his prize.

While Yuri retrieved his prize, Tia approached Mei. "What's the meaning of this, Tia?" the Mizukage asked with her arms crossed.

Tia whispered into the Mizukage's ear, "Call off the search; we know who the culprit is and Hozuki's group is chasing them down."

"I can't call the search off." Mei whispered back. "The moment the search ends and Yuri collects his prize, we have no justification for keeping the audience here while Suigetsu-kun captures the culprit."

"Yes we do."

Tia stepped a few paces back from the Mizukage's side, turned to face Yuri, and pointed Nuibari at him:

" _ **Yuri Joki!**_ I challenge you! Right here, right now!"

"Huh? Lady Tia and Lord Yuri are going to fight for third place after all?" a member of the audience wondered.

"Yeah… it's going to be awesome!" Kukyo said from beside them. "Fight! _Fight!_ _**Fight!**_ "

Soon the rest of the audience was chanting right along with Kukyo.

"I guess we don't have a choice…" Mei closed her eyes briefly before she opened them again and widened her smile. "Your wish is my command! Right now, Tia Terumi and Yuri Joki will participate in a very special _exhibition match_ to determine who truly deserves _**Third Place!**_ In this one battle, however, both participants will be permitted to use their prizes in action, and I will personally be their referee! Torasame Hoshigaki, Lord Daimyo's guard, clear out; the participants need their space!"

At her command, the ones disguised as the Daimyo's guard ran out of the arena and into the waiting room. Torasame followed after them, placing himself between the guard and the battle with Kabutowari drawn, its axe in his right hand and its hammer in its left.

"Don't worry, honourable guard! I shall protect you. We are brethren of a sort, are we not?" Torasame remarked as he looked back to them and grinned.

At the same time, Yuri finished opening his prize – Shibuki - and quickly got into the starting position with Tia, while Mei took Chojuro's starting position as the referee. The Mizukage then removed her hat with her right hand and raised it into the air.

After another second, she swiftly brought the Mizukage's hat down to the ground as she spoke a single word:

"Begin!"

[X-X-X]

Meanwhile, in the infirmary…

"I found him!" said Jugo, having just transformed into Sage Mode.

"Then lead the way!" Suigetsu replied.

With a silent nod, Jugo stood up and promptly ran out of the infirmary. Suigetsu, Chojuro, and Tenten followed him. They soon left Ryujin Stadium grounds altogether, but as soon as they passed the exit, Jugo's eyes twitched with distress and he stopped, prompting the others to stop in turn with confusion.

"Gekido's left my sensing range…" Jugo said.

"Which way was he going when you lost him?" Tenten asked.

"That way."

Jugo pointed in the direction he last sensed Gekido.

Chojuro followed Jugo's finger with his eyes. "Due north…"

"North… That's the direction his mom lives!" Tenten recalled. "Gekido's planning to run away and live with his mom again!"

"Let's go!" Suigetsu shouted as he dashed north, followed shortly by the others. "Gekido's small and carrying Hiramekarei with him… we have to catch him eventually!"

[X-X-X]

Gekido was consumed with a puff of smoke, unable to maintain his Transformation Jutsu any longer. Because of this, Hiramekarei was now too big for him to carry on his back; the tip of the blade was stuck in the pavement just behind him.

 _Argh… I'm stuck!_

At that moment, Gekido noticed that his house - Suigetsu's house – was on the side of the road to his left. On instinct, he ducked through Hiramekarei's strap he had over his shoulder and proceeded to run again, but before he could make even a few steps he heard a voice calling out to him from behind:

"Gekido! _**Stop!**_ "

Suigetsu's voice made Gekido freeze with fear. While he remained motionless, Suigetsu, Chojuro, Tenten, and Jugo surrounded him from four directions. Chojuro also lifted Hiramekarei off the ground and placed it as his back once more.

"Gekido… we know what you did." Jugo said.

"Forging a copy of the Kiba and ruining Suigetsu's prize with it… Eating one of my Soldier Pills without my permission… stabbing Chojuro in the back and impersonating him…" Tenten added, her voice sullen.

"Why did you do all those things?!" Suigetsu asked.

" _Why?_ "

Gekido's voice notably darker than any time he'd ever talked before. "The reason for everything I did is the same… to make _my wish come true._ "

"Your _**wish?!**_ " Suigetsu's eye twitched, wracked with confusion. "Your wish was to _punish the people that killed your father!_ I don't see how any of your crimes has to do with that!"

Gekido turned to face in between Suigetsu and Chojuro. " _One word_ will put everything into perspective. After I say it, everything will make sense…"

Everyone was filled with dreadful silence awaiting Gekido's word. It was so quiet in fact, that Suigetsu could hear his own heartbeat within the suspense.

After a second or so of waiting and Gekido taking a deep breath, he finally uttered the word that would change everything:

" _ **Nashiken.**_ "

"Na-shi-ken? ... No… You don't mean? ...!"

Suigetsu's jaw dropped as he started to shiver in terror.

"Yes."

Gekido pointed to Suigetsu with one hand and Chojuro with the other. "My father's name was _Ikonokori_ Nashiken. My full name is Gekido _Nashiken!_ And _**you two**_ killed my father!"

"So this whole time you -"

"Yes, Ms. Tenten." Gekido looked back to her with narrow, hate-filled eyes. "From the very beginning my wish was to imprison _Suigetsu-Senpai and Chojuro-Senpai…_ and _Sasuke Uchiha_ too!"

Jugo's eyes widened. "You were going to have Sasuke imprisoned as well?"

"He gave Suigetsu-Senpai permission to kill my father, so he's just as guilty as the ones that took his life personally! He should have gotten his pardon revoked for _accessory to murder_ right then and there!"

"Actually… killing your father _wasn't a crime._ Not in that case." Chojuro interjected. "Your father was already marked for death by the village for killing Sir Mangetsu and escaping prison during the Fourth Ninja World War. Since _I was there_ , Gekido-kun, killing your father was _not_ a case of murder… it was a case of assisting me in _completing my mission._ "

"That's just semantics! If you kill someone, then you're a killer! Why should the victim's past matter? A life is a life all the same! The only difference between your actions and Father's was that you got a _legal excuse_ and he _**didn't!**_ "

No one could respond to Gekido's rant. No one could rebut it.

Someone eventually did speak up, however. It was Tenten:

"Sometimes we have to kill people in our line work… We're ninja, after all… That's just how the system works, Gekido-kun…"

"Then it's a _**broken**_ system! If being a ninja means it's okay to _kill people_ just because somebody higher up _says so_ , then _**to hell with ninja!**_ At least Father never made any excuses for what he did; he was a remorseless murderer and a thief _by his own admission…_ Ninja, on the other hand, _**delude themselves**_ into thinking they're any better just because ' _it's for the village_ ' on top of it! A system that values _loyalty_ over _human life_ isn't one I want any part in!"

"But you became a ninja yourself!"

"And I told you why already, Ms. Tenten! The only reason I became a shinobi was to _save Father!_ His obsession with _Hiramekarei_ made him an enemy to the Hidden Mist and it was only a matter of time before ninja would hunt him down and kill him! I wanted to become strong enough to save Father from being murdered by the _**corrupt system**_ _**called 'Ninja'!**_ I had no intention of ever becoming a permanent part of the village… I was going to quit the moment I got what I wanted!"

Everyone was silent once more.

Eventually, Chojuro spoke up:

"You're… you're right, Gekido-kun. There are things wrong with the system as is… and it was wrong of me to kill your father because of them. He may have been a murderer and a thief, but your father deserved a chance to start over, just like Suigetsu-kun and everyone else. I… want to fix the problems with the system that led to your father's death, Gekido-kun. It will take a long time, but if I become Mizukage, then maybe I'll be able to change things..."

Gekido's eyes widened with pleasant surprise. "You really mean that?"

"Yes."

Suigetsu took a deep breath, and then he apologized in turn:

"I'm… sorry too. Gekido, when I had your dad on the ground, I seriously thought that no one would care if he died… I had no idea he had a family. That's no excuse for what I did, of course… Come to think of it, I think your dad was trying to tell me about you in his final moments, but he was too injured to say anything… Instead of giving Chojuro the okay to land the killing blow, I should have had Karin heal him so he could tell me the whole story. Maybe seeing his enemies giving him mercy might have changed his mind too… I'm sorry… I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you."

"Thank you…"

At that moment, however, Gekido turned his back to Suigetsu. "… but you don't need to do anything more. You already helped me grant my wish; I wanted to make you two pay for what you did to Father, and now you have. So I'll just leave and go back home with Mother like I originally planned… She's already at the northern border waiting for me, since I told her about my plans at the start of the hour break… There's nothing left for me in this village."

"Hold on." Suigetsu solemnly objected. "Before you go, I have to know. From the very beginning you were using us to make your wish come true… Does that mean that our friendship was a _lie?_ "

In response to the question, Gekido turned to face him once more and smiled with a stream of tears coming from both eyes:

"I _**wish**_ our friendship was a lie! I wanted to complete the first round by myself so that I wouldn't get attached to you… but I had so much trouble attacking you because even though you killed my father, you _still_ became my friend! And when Torasame-san defeated Yuri-Senpai in one punch, I got really scared that you might lose… That's why I ran back here and got my fake Kiba. if you couldn't win for me and make my wish come true, then I could still make you suffer by _sabotaging your prize!_ But then Chojuro-Senpai walked in on me, and I was forced to stab him from behind… It then occurred to me that I could _become_ Chojuro-Senpai and use his position as referee to give you _an easy win…_ I tried to stop the fight early even though I knew Torasame-san had more in him, but you ended up thwarting me... And when we said goodbye right before the prizes, I could have exposed myself and demanded my wish like I planned before, but I didn't… I didn't want you to go to prison _along with_ what I had in store for you in the prize box! You said it yourself when you spoke to Torasame-san: having one set of memories doesn't mean the other ones go away!"

"Oh yeah… you heard all that, didn't you?"

After a second of contemplation, Suigetsu continued. "There's still something I can do for you. I can escort you to your mom and take you both out of the country."

"What are you saying, Suigetsu?!" Tenten objected. "Gekido might be a child and a victim in all this too, but he's still a _criminal!_ He needs to do his time!"

"And he will. But in the Hidden _Leaf_ , not the Hidden Mist. They're better equipped to give Gekido the psychological support he needs. And there's someone very special I want him to meet while he's there, someone with experience _loving and hating the same person at the same time._ As the Hidden Mist's ambassador for the Hidden Leaf, I have the authority to make those arrangements."

Suigetsu then pointed to his own forehead protector.

"That's right..." Jugo said. "Your wish was to reinstate as a Hidden Mist ninja and become its ambassador for the Hidden Leaf."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "So Suigetsu has _Temari's_ job now?"

"Yeah," Suigetsu confirmed as he approached Gekido and grabbed his left wrist with his right hand. "Now if you don't mind, I've got a prisoner to escort. This is where we split up. Jugo, Tenten, say hi to Queen Otohime and take notes about Samehada while you're at Ryugu Castle for me, would you?"

"What's he talking about, Jugo?" Tenten asked as she faced him.

"I'll explain once we meet back up with Killer B and Torasame."

"As for you, Chojuro…" Suigetsu smiled, "Become a great Mizukage."

Chojuro replied with a confident salute. "I will, Suigetsu-kun! Make sure you give Gekido-kun all the help he needs on your end."

"Will do!"

Suigetsu let go of Gekido and faced north once more. "Come on, Gekido! Your new home awaits us!" he said as he broke into a jog.

Gekido started running after him. "Yes, Senpai!"

[X-X-X]

And so the _Strongest Under the Mist_ tournament came to a close. Suigetsu may have been the Grand Champion, but everyone was victorious in some way. Tia and Yuri became famous nation-wide for their incredible battle that ended the tournament in addition to winning the swords they wanted. Chojuro returned to his work with a newfound ambition to become Mizukage, which more than pleased Mei. Kukyo and the rest of the village, meanwhile, rekindled their respect for Suigetsu and earned an ally in him; he entered the tournament a traitor and left it a hero.

Jugo, Tenten, and Killer B found their way to Ryugu Castle - the _Shark Senjutsu School_ \- with the guidance of Torasame and his brethren, and while they were there they restored Queen Otohime's faith in humanity and convinced her to let Killer B keep Samehada. After that, Torasame brought the Water Daimyo and his guard back safely to the surface, and remained the Daimyo's bodyguard for the time being with a well-earned sword to help him accomplish his duty.

Gekido, on the other hand, managed to punish the people who killed his father in a way he never anticipated, and made bonds with people he never thought he could, one of those being Suigetsu himself. As for Suigetsu, he was the biggest winner of all. In addition the Kiba he won his status as a ninja was reinstated, and with it he won a job, his brother's headband, and the village's recognition and fame. But more importantly than all of that, he won something else…

"Senpai, this is Mother!"

Gekido was excitedly shouting from in between them at the northern-most corner of the village.

"Hello, there… Mrs. Nashiken…" Suigetsu meekly offered a handshake, struggling to make eye-contact with the woman in front of him. "I killed your husband… sorry…"

Mrs. Nashiken happily took Suigetsu's hand. "No hard feelings, Hozuki-kun. I know that my husband wasn't innocent himself, and you had a right to be angry for what he did to your brother. And my son made sure you paid for what happened, so I consider everything even. Besides, you might be my husband's murderer, but you're also my son's _friend._ I can't thank you enough for everything you've done to help him the past few days."

"Uh… You're welcome, Lady…"

Suigetsu tried looking into Mrs. Nashiken's eyes, but pulled his hand away from her and shied away once more, partially because of embarrassment and partially because he couldn't handle the power of her warm yet terrifying gaze.

"Come on, Senpai, Mother! Let's go to the Hidden Leaf!" Gekido suggested. "The sooner we get there the sooner I can finish my sentence and walk free again!"

Gekido then ran toward his mother and hugged her across the waist, eagerly rubbing his head in between her breasts.

"He's completely different around you…" Suigetsu observed with shock.

Mrs. Nashiken smiled as she returned her son's embrace. "I'm his _mother;_ what do you expect? We show a different side of ourselves to everyone we know. From my understanding you've been a lot softer with my son than you are with almost everyone else. And I'm sure there's someone you're even _nastier_ with than usual!"

"You have that right." Suigetsu smiled in turn. "I wouldn't trade _that one_ away for the world."

"We've chatted idly long enough, haven't we, Hozuki-kun? Please lead us to the closest pier."

"Sure thing…"

Suigetsu nodded and started walking even further north and to the west. With Gekido still in her arms, Mrs. Nashiken followed.

 _Wow… Gekido's mom is really amazing… She's such a nice lady that I can't even imagine a dick like Nashiken scoring her… Then again, a dick like me managed to score a woman like Karin, so I guess anything's possible…_ Suigetsu thought.

Along the way Suigetsu turned his head back briefly to check on Gekido and Mrs. Nashiken. Gekido had left his hold on his mom and was walking on his own, holding his mother's hand. But what caught Suigetsu's attention the most was Gekido's face: he gave the warmest and brightest smile Suigetsu'd ever seen from him before.

That smile warmed Suigetsu's heart, and he found himself smiling back.

 _Yeah… Being the hero really paid off._


End file.
